A Lost Love
by Polley9
Summary: What happens when the past you thought you buried, suddenly comes back to life? Can Team Gibbs help one of their own when the past threatens to overcome them? Hey everyone I have a new story that I want your opinion on so please let me know if you like it or not, and if I should carry on with it or drop it now. thanks.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer— I do not own.

Just a small authors note— this is not a song fic. But I did however find this awesome song by evanescence while I was in the middle of writing this story and it totally explains how I want to portray Tony's loss. With all that said please read and enjoy.

I will wander 'til the end of time, torn away from you.

I pulled away to face the pain.

I close my eyes and drift away.

Over the fear that I will never find

A way to heal my soul.

And I will wander 'til the end of time

Torn away from you.

My heart is broken

Sweet sleep, my dark angel

Deliver us from sorrow's hold

(Over my heart).

I can't go on living this way

But I can't go back the way I came

Chained to this fear that I will never find

A way to heal my soul

And I will wander 'til the end of time

Half alive without you

My heart is broken

Sweet sleep, my dark angel

Deliver us

Chapter 1

Dream a dream

Tony sighed contentedly as he looked longingly at the scene that played out before him. It never failed every year he had the same dream, and he knew it was a dream because this is where he had last seen them. God he missed them so much. He knew that as soon as he decided to walk over to them he would wake up. It happened every time. And every time he still made the choice to do it. He just had to take that chance that maybe this time he would make it all the way over to them.

Tony arrived at work about three hours early that morning. He normally took the day off but this year for some reason he hadn't. So there he sat at five in the morning going though cold cases, and catching up on all of his paper work. He could feel the glare of his boss boring into the back of his head, but he steadfastly ignored it. He concentrated even harder on the papers in front of him. He really hoped his boss wouldn't be expecting an explanation, because he wasn't in the mood to give one. He sighed heavily and rubbed his tired eyes. He needed to go see the ophthalmologist, but he had been putting it off, he didn't want to admit that he might need glasses. Of course with all the hits to the head that he had taken in his lifetime he was slightly surprised that he hadn't needed them before now.

He sighed wearily again and tried to go back to concentrating on his work. He often came in early or worked late, when the office was quite and there was no one there to distract him, and when he didn't have to pretend, he didn't have to worry about making sure that his mask was solidly in place. After a few minutes though he gave up and laid his head down on his desk. He breathed deeply in and then released it slowly. He just couldn't bring himself to care the his boss was watching. He didn't expect it to happen but he actually managed to fall into a light doze.

He was grateful that his boss seemed content to leave him be. He knew that Gibbs' gut was probably giving him a grade a temper tantrum right now, but he was glad that even though he was probably chomping at the bit to come down and interrogate him he restrained himself probably realizing that coming right out and cornering him wasn't going to work this time.

Tony wasn't sure how long he had been asleep but if the kink in his neck was anything to go by, it had been a while. Tony carefully looked at his watch and saw to his surprise that he had slept a little over an hour, which was more than he had slept in the last week. He jumped when a large coffee was suddenly shoved under his nose. He leaned back in his chair and cried out, "Crap boss! Don't do that! One of these times I'm gonna have a heart attack. I'm not getting any younger yah know."

Gibbs smiled and said, "I'll keep that in mind Tony."

Tony cringed inwardly. If Gibbs was using his first name that meant that he was dying or he was gonna try and drag his deepest darkest secrets out of him again. In an attempt to head off his boss he said, "I'm really not in the mood to talk about it Gibbs."

Now it was Gibbs' turn to cringe, he knew how much it threw Tony for a loop when he was nice to him, but Gibbs wanted Tony to know that if he wanted to he could come and talk to him. He also noted the use of his name rather than the customary boss. Gibbs knew that trying to drag out whatever was eating at his senior field agent by cornering him wasn't going to work this time so wisely switching to Tony's sir name he said, "That's fine DiNozzo. But I am here when you are ready to talk about it."

Tony sighed and said, "Thanks Boss."

Gibbs just shook his head and then inspecting his agent a little more closely noticed the dark circles and heavy bags under his eyes. He also noticed his pasty skin and how his face looked a little more sunken in. Gibbs took a drink of coffee, then said, "You look like shit DiNozzo. When was the last time you had a proper meal?"

Gibbs felt his gut go into over time again while DiNozzo thought about the last time he had eaten properly. He sighed and said, "Never mind DiNozzo, if you have to think about it, it's been to long."

Tony sighed and said, "Yah I guess I have been a little off since that last op."

Gibbs almost choked on his coffee. If Tony was admitting that he wasn't doing well then there was definitely something wrong. Gibbs just stared at him then said, "Yah that was a bad one. Look I want you to go and get some real food, and then I want you to sleep some more." He looked at the clock and thought for a minute, "We still have two hours I want you to go and I don't want to see you back here before eight 'o-clock. Then I want you to go and see Ducky for a check up. Your due for one any ways."

Tony smiled, grateful that his boss was willing to let it go for now. He stood and stretched out all the kinks from his body and said, "Thanks Boss."

Gibbs nodded then said. "Tony if you want to talk I'm here."

Tony nodded and said, "I appreciate that boss. And maybe some day soon I can talk to you about it. Just not today."

Gibbs nodded. He could understand; he had more than his fair share of secrets. He sighed as he watched his agent disappear into the elevator. He had a feeling that today was gonna be another bad one.

This feeling of foreboding only intensified when the second elevator dinged and three men all dressed in black suits stepped off. Gibbs watched as Vance came out of his office and personally escorted them into a conference room.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer— I do not own.

Authors Note— Since you all asked so nicely here is the next chapter. Now I want you all to know that I have a very busy schedule and updates from here on out will be very sporadic, I will however try my best to keep the wait at a two week maximum. Thanks for all the support and I hope that you all enjoy this new story. =))

* * *

Chapter 2

CONFESSIONS

Tony had just walked back into the bullpen. He had gone for some breakfast after he had hesitantly admitted to Gibbs that he had not been eating well the last few days. Per Gibbs' orders he had been gone for two hours. Now back he saw that Ziva and McGee were starring intensely up at the Directors door. He came up behind them and said, "What'ch yah doin?"

McGee and Ziva jumped and Ziva whacked Tony on the arm saying, "There have been some very suspicious people roaming around upstairs with Director Vance for the last two hours and now Gibbs has been summoned and the Director did not look pleased."

Tony was just about to make a comment when the directors door was opened suddenly and Gibbs stepped out he walked up to the railing and motioned for them all to come up.

Tony suspiciously walked behind his team into the conference room that they had all been called to moments ago by Gibbs, Tony didn't like the look of things as they all filed in and took their seats around the table.

Tony cautiously looked around the room it had only the team and three other people, Vance and two other official looking people that he could see, and Tony; to his surprise he knew who they were. He couldn't believe that after all these years they were actually back in his life, but what surprised him more than seeing these people again was the anger that was coursing through him, he could feel his blood begin to boil at just the sight of them.

He had never had such a strong reaction before. He hadn't seen these men in over ten years and here he was having almost a blood lust reaction to their presence. Tony came out of his mental reverie when Gibbs slapped him on the back of the head. He instantly sat up straighter and saying, "Yes boss, sorry boss."

Vance smirked a little and said, "I was just saying that these men here are from . . ."

"An undisclosed sector of homeland security called alpha unit. They specialize in the training of secret special ops units." cut in DiNozzo, his voice was dripping with utter disdain and contempt. Tony refused to look at any of his teammates; instead he steadily glared at the men standing in the far corner of the room who were looking extremely annoyed with the whole situation. If Tony's posture had been stiff before, it became absolutely rigid at the sound of an all to familiar voice coming from behind him,

"Well, well Commander DiNozzo, it would seem as if your opinion of us has not changed since the last time we have seen each-other; what has it been? Ten years?"

Tony hung his head and said, "Unfortunately the last ten years have not been long enough, and it's been eleven."

The man in the corner chuckled darkly and then on a heavy sigh said, "Well Tony you were all ways one for the details, and I don't suppose that it has been long enough for you."

"What do you want?" growled Tony shaking his head in frustration.

"We need you and your teams help."

"Why? You promised you would never bother me again. You swore to me Director; you gave me your word."

"I know Tony. But is only because this is of the upmost importance. He is back. And we think he is back for revenge." Repeated the director with a little more urgency

Tony suddenly stood shoving his chair away so hard that it toppled over and slammed his hands down on the table so hard that every glass on it toppled over. Without turning around he ground out, "STOP! You do not have the right to call me by that name any longer. You forfeited all rights to call me by that name eleven years ago. Now stop wasting my time and tell me why you are really here."

The director came out of the shadows were he had remained for the whole time and said, "I know we messed up Commander and I had hoped that you were beyond your anger but I was wrong. That however does not change the situation at hand he is back and he has resumed his previous activities. He has also started targeting the people who he thinks betrayed him last time. You were the only operative that was not found out by him. But for all we know he has found out about you and is now intent on extracting revenge on you. But all that aside _you_ have had the most success infiltrating his corporation, meaning that if he has found out that you were a mole then he will be even more serious about making you pay. We don't know what he knows and my superiors along with most of your previous unit and I felt like it was time to warn you and to maybe have you and your team help us do damage control."

"I told you I don't work for you any more."

"We are aware of that and we don't expect you too. We already have a mole that has begun to work his way up in the ranks. All we need from you and your team is to run the behind the scenes get information old and new to our operative to help him blend in a little more give him a leg up in the system. He's good but he's not you and that's who we need. We need our man to be able to access that information so that we can take him down. And we were hoping that since your team is the best that we could convince you to be back up if anything should go wrong."

Tony let out a mirthless laugh an said as he turned around to face the man, "You know how hard I worked on that mission I spent two years undercover for that mission. How long has your man been under?"

"Three years."

Tony just shook his head saying, "If the director orders me too I will help but other than that I wish to not have a part in this operation."

The director shook his head in exasperation and said, "But what about you personally? He's out for blood Commander and you and I both know that he isn't one to just let it go."

No one except the director had seen Tony so lethal looking before, Tony's eyes were dark, and his face was devoid of all but one emotion, anger, as he said, "Then let him come. If he is stupid enough to mess with me then let him come and learn his lesson."

With that Tony left the room and headed out towards the elevator. What he didn't realize was that he had a very pissed off Leroy Jethro Gibbs, one angry assassin, and a computer geek hot on his ass determined to get some answers out of their coworker, and maybe prevent him from doing any damage.

They watched him punch the button for the elevator but when that was taking to long he opted for the stairs instead taking them two at a time. He quickly made it down to the gym where, not bothering to change his clothes he just stripped himself of his suite jacket and his shirt leaving him in his undershirt and pants, and started wailing on a punching bag.

* * *

Minutes later Gibbs walked in and without saying a word stood behind the bag and braised it with his body he cringed when he saw DiNozzo's bare hands, but he also knew that sometimes you just needed the pain the help ground you. After a few minutes of silent partnership when Gibbs was sure that DiNozzo had burned off a sufficient amount of anger he pulled back from the bag, and grabbing DiNozzo's wrist said, "take a break." it was an order and Tony never disobeyed a direct order. So he stopped punching the bag but it didn't stop his frustrated pacing.

Gibbs finally stood in front of him and said, "Explain DiNozzo." again it was an order but this time he couldn't make him self comply this was just to damn complicated and painful. This time he just shook his head apologetically and said, "Sorry boss." and with that he backed away then turned and ran out of the gym.

To say that Gibbs was shocked was an understatement. Never in all of the years that he had worked with DiNozzo had he ever disobeyed a direct order and Gibbs knew that it had to have been bad for DiNozzo to refuse to talk about it. Gibbs then decided that he was going to find out as much about the whole situation before he agreed to help with the opp.

Heading back upstairs he found Vance and the director of the alpha unit waiting in his bullpen. Before either of the men could say anything Gibbs flanked by Ziva and McGee said, " I want my team read in on the whole opp. This one and the previous one I want to know exactly what happened to DiNozzo. Why it's so god damn important to come back into his life after ten years, who this man is that might be targeting him, and why he hates you all so much and why you need my team in particular. Those are my demands and then and only then will I tell you whether or not we can help."

Vance was about tell Gibbs off when the other director cut him off and saying,

"That's alright Leon they have a right to know." he nodded to his assistant who brought forth a brief case. The director opened it and passed out several extremely thick folders and then pulled out a flash drive. Which he passed to McGee saying, "Put this on the screen for me."

He then passed out the folders and began explaining. "What you see before you is the complete file on the operation known as Domino. Named such by Commander DiNozzo, with the idea in mind that if you knock down one piece the others will follow. Which is how it went until we went up against the biggest player of them all, Rolland Franklynns. He is the owner and CEO of the largest plastic production company in the world but we know that he also has several terrorist ties, international and home based. And he also has a very lucrative deal going in the drug importation business.

Commander DiNozzo spent over two years infiltrating and working his way up through Franklynns business, but was pulled out when his partner suddenly exposed himself as a federal agent. We found out later that his partner had begun taking bribes from local gangs and the mafia. Also it was during this time that Commander DiNozzo suffered a severe familial loss, which he was unaware of until after the mission was blown.

His wife and two children were killed in a house fire that we believe was an act of arson against DiNozzo personally. We were never able to ascertain if this was from a previous grudge because I'm sure that you have all figured out by now that DiNozzo has a way of pissing people off, or if it was due to his involvement in this operation. We couldn't get too much information out of his former partner before he was killed by one of the mafia family's."

Everyone was in shock at this point. No one knew what to say. McGee was the first person to come out of his shock; he gaped at Gibbs and said to no one in particular, "Wow, that actually explains so much about Tony."

Gibbs turned with a full force glare at the visiting director and menacingly asked, "What happened?"

The director sighed and said, "We messed up. We knew that DiNozzo had received threats against his family, and we took safety measures, we moved them to a new location, we gave them temporary identities, the works-"

"But." pestered Gibbs.

"But we had a mole. Tony's partner, who was also his handler, was told of all of these things and was supposed to pass the messages back to Tony, because obviously Tony was worried about them. So while his partner was lying to him, he was going along thinking that every thing was ok when in actuality it wasn't, we were pretty sure that his partner was the one who leaked the information about the safe house, we just couldn't prove it, and we had a new agent guarding them and unfortunately for lieutenant Sacks—"

"Wait!" cut in Ziva, "You mean Sacks as in works with the FBI Sacks?"

The Director nodded and asked, "You have worked with him?"

The others in the room shared a look and Gibbs with a small grin that was any thing but pleasant said, "Yah couple of times."

The director looked thoughtful for a minute and asked, "And Tony cooperated?"

The Vance took the toothpick out of his mouth and asked, "Should he have acted differently?"

The Director shook his head and with a look of amusement said, "Well the last time those two were together Tony made some threats about what would happen to Sacks if he ever saw him again."

Gibbs and Vance shared a look and then Vance said, "Well it explains the hostility towards each other."

The director sighed and said, "As I was saying Lieutenant Sacks was new to the whole operation and became distracted and the perpetrators were able to get the jump on him, and knocked him out. Leaving Tony's family vulnerable."

There was a small sniffle and they all looked back to see that Ziva was trying desperately to cover up the evidence of her tears. She looked defensively at them all saying, "What! It is a very sad story, and it explains so much about why he acts the way he does."

McGee nodded in agreement and then asked, "Just what exactly was Tony's cover for this mission? What did he do for this Franklynns guy?"

The Director looked at them and said, "He was a general computer technician. At least that's where he started. By the end of the op he was Franklynns own personal computer technician. The guy had him doing all sorts of computer stuff that even I can't begin to explain."

McGee and the rest of the team looked stunned. McGee and Vance had their mouths hanging open, Ziva looked like she didn't quite believe what she just heard and Gibbs was trying to glare a hole into the wall. Finally after many minutes McGee began to regain his senses and stuttered out, "Tony . . . our Tony . . . Technically challenged Tony . . . who types twenty words a minute and who crashes his computer once a week Tony . . ."

The director shook his head and said, "I'm really not surprised that he never told you, he has never liked to advertise his own accomplishments. But yes the one and the same. He is one of the best. No one can hack a computer like he can. And all that you just said doesn't surprise me, he always was good at hiding himself from the world."

Stunned they had all turned their attention back to the plasma and began to go over the finer points of the operation when the elevator dinged and a very timid young lady stepped out holding a very thick envelope. She walked slowly towards the group who were all facing away from her. She cleared her throat and said, "Excuse me. Can you tell me which one of you is agent Gibbs?"

They all turned simultaneously to look at the intruder. The girl quickly shrunk back and stammered, "Um . . . I . . . I hh . . . ave a letter for him that . . . that needs to be delivered immediately."

Gibbs stepped forward and asked before he took the letter from her, "Do you know who asked you to deliver it?"

"Um no sir he just paid me fifty bucks to bring it here to you, and to tell you that you had better not waste any time opening it."

Before he took the letter he donned a pair of gloves. He carefully took the letter and looking up saw that everyone else was holding their breath. He carefully shook the letter. He could tell by its weight that there was something in it, and by the sound of items moving around. He carefully slit the top open with his letter opener. Ever since the whole plague fiasco they had all become paranoid about taking precautions. He gently took out the letter and unfolded it.

The letter it's self wasn't even a paragraph long but it was the three pictures that accompanied it that sent terror through Gibbs's body. Two of the pictures that he held in his hands, had to have been from DiNozzo's personal collection.

Gibbs was in shock but he finally got past the pictures and began to read the note. His gut was working over time today and it had just gone into super over drive. The note was definitely a threat on his agents' life.

He looked up when Vance cleared his throat and said, "You care to share Gibbs?"

Gibbs just looked at Vance and without waiting any time read,

"_Ashes to Ashes,_

_Dust to Dust,_

_Prepare to meet the ones you've lost._

_Ashes, ashes your gonna fall down."_

Every one looked at each other most of them were wondering at the meaning of the riddle, except the director and Gibbs was watching his reaction.

"You know what this means?" it was more of a statement than an order.

The director nodded and said, "He's telling the commander that he is coming after him and that he knows what happened."

Suddenly the piece that Gibbs felt he was missing fell into place, "Is today the anniversary of their deaths?"

The director thought for a minute and the said, "Yes."

The whole team suddenly caught on to what Gibbs was thinking and went into action. McGee went to his computer, saying, "I'm gonna activate the tracker on Tony's car and run a trace on his phone just incase he hasn't turned it off."

Ziva reached for her desk phone and said, "I will call my contacts and see what I can find out about this Franklynns."

The two Directors stood watching as the team went to work. The director turned to Vance and said, "I can see why they are the best."

Vance grunted and said; "You should see DiNozzo when he is here. Its quite interesting."

The director nodded and said, "I have seen the commander work many times. I find it most interesting that he appears to do very little and yet he was always leaps and bounds ahead of every one else. I do believe that he calls it his work smarter not harder method."

Vance smiled slightly and said, "Yeah I think I've heard of that one."

The ping of the elevators sounded, breaking the study hum of the three agents working. The director and Vance exchanged a look when a blur of black came running into the bullpen wringing her hands, and crying out, "GIBBS! Gibbs! Where's Tony? Tell me he's hear."

Gibbs took abbey by the shoulders and said, "We're trying to find him now Abb's. What's the matter?"

Abby shook her head and said, "This is not good Gibbs. Not good at all. I was sleeping down in my lab, cause you know how I've been working a lot of late hours, and all and I crashed about two hours ago cause I ran out of Caff-Pows, and I was sleeping and I had a dream and in that dream I saw Tony standing next to a grave, and then I saw him laying in the street all beat up and with a knife sticking out of his chest."

Abby took a deep breath because she had been rambling and then said in a softer voice, "I'm scared Gibbs. Every time I have a dream like that some one gets hurt and its usually Tony. Please Gibbs find him as soon as you can then bring him to me so that I can kill him for making me worry."

Gibbs just grinned and kissed Abby on the forehead, he looked to McGee and asked, "Anything yet McGee?"

McGee held up his hand for a minute before a smile spread on his face as he turned to his boss and said, "Looks like Tony's at Mama Spinellas. At least that's were his car and his cell are."

Gibbs nodded and said, "Good work McGee. Lets go get him and bring him back in. He has some questions to answer."

Vance stepped forward and said, "Gibbs I would also like you to inform Agent DiNozzo that he is from this point forward under protective custody and it is non negotiable."

Gibbs smirked and said, "I'll let you tell him that Leon."

Vance scowled at Gibbs' retreating back. The director turned to Vance and said; "I can tell by that little conversation that the commander is still as stubborn and pigheaded as ever when it comes to his own safety"

Vance turned to the visiting director and asked, "Just how closely have you been following Agent DiNozzo?"

The director cocked an eyebrow at Vance's question and said, "Well not as closely as I would have liked."

Vance nodded and turning towards his office said, "Come with me and I'll fill you in a bit."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer— I do not own.

Chapter 3

Explaining.

* * *

Gibbs and McGee forcefully supported and led a very angry and slightly limping DiNozzo out of the elevator and into the bullpen. Ziva came behind them carrying the evidence bag that contained the gun that had been dropped at the scene. It was late so thankfully most of the other teams had gone home already and the few people that were still there were so used to the antics of the lead MRCT that they hardly paid any attention at all.

They all rolled their eyes when Tony once again exclaimed, "I'm telling you! I'm fine!"

Gibbs just rolled his eyes and said, "Uh huh sure ya are DiNozzo. And that's why your gonna let Ducky look you over. So stop fighting it."

"But boss," whined Tony.

"No buts DiNozzo. Now sit." ordered Gibbs as Ziva pulled out a chair for her partner to sit in. Tony sat or rather fell into the chair. He huffed and winced as that aggravated his already tender ribs.

He wasn't sure why they were all getting so upset about it; it wasn't like he hadn't ever had threats made on his life before. Of course this one was a little different, this one was more of a personal vendetta apparently they weren't too picky about who got caught in the cross fires, if his date tonight was any indication. Tony just shrugged mentally, it wasn't anything that hadn't happened before he supposed. Not like he couldn't handle it.

He was shaken from his mental reverie by the sound of some one clearing their throat. Tony looked up and found that the team plus Ducky and Abby were all standing around him, looking like they were waiting for an answer.

He looked around at them and asked innocently, "What's up guys?"

Abby stepped forward and poked him hard in the chest repeatedly as she said, "You mister are what's up. I can't believe you got hurt again Tony. You promised you would be more careful after the last time."

Tony looked taken aback and cried out, "What is it with you people tonight? This wasn't my fault. I didn't know that some psycho dude was gonna attack me. It's not like I foresaw it coming. Besides shouldn't I get a few points for 1. Getting out alive, 2. Keeping my date safe, and 3. Managing to get the bad guy?"

Abby's lip quivered slightly and her eyes began to fill up as she said, "But Tony you shouldn't have been out there alone at all. And why didn't you tell us? Or at least why didn't you tell me? We are supposed to be best friends Tony."

Tony looked very confused; there was a very uncomfortable tightness in his chest that he didn't understand. He couldn't understand it but he some how knew that something was very wrong. He thought about it for a minute and the part of this whole night that had bothered him from the beginning finally made sense he looked at all of them individually and asked, "How did you all know that I was in trouble? I know for a fact that I never told any of you that I had a date tonight so unless you have a tracker on me, how did you know were I was and that I was going to need your assistance?" His voice had gotten noticeably darker taking on a more demanding tone as he began to piece together the clues.

The whole team looked slightly uncomfortable as they all shifted their various expressions towards Gibbs who stood observing Tony with a closed off expression. After a few minutes of a starring contest with Tony, Gibbs reached over and grabbed an envelope off of his desk and handed it to Tony.

Tony took the envelope with hands that were shaking for various reasons. Very aware that his reactions were being scrutinized he tried to quell the sudden onslaught of emotions that over took him as he handled the envelope noticing the weight of it and the typing on the front of it addressing it to agent Gibbs. Tony took a deep breath and carefully pulled out the letter. He unfolded it and into his lap fell three photos. His mind was beginning to panic as he caught a glimpse of a photo as it landed face down in his lap.

He didn't even need to read the letter to know what this was about. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he picked up the pictures and studied them. A sob escaped from him as he looked at the first, which was a picture of two smiling toddlers each with olive skin tone and big bright green eyes as they smiled widely for the picture and a young woman with long dark hair that had strips of bright purple in it and bright Hazel eyes that were lined with heavy eye liner giving her a distinct punk rock look. The next was of the same baby's but included one very young special agent DiNozzo as they sat in his lap and all three had their attention towards a TV. The third was a more recent picture of DiNozzo placing flowers next too three small head stones.

Tony suddenly felt very light headed as he looked up from the pictures. He blindly tried to stand up, but quickly fell down to the ground as his leg gave out and he missed the chair on his way down. He was slightly aware of someone touching him. He tried to pull away from the touch but it just followed him. He was suddenly finding it very hard to breath. He was becoming very disoriented. He looked around him but his vision was becoming blurry.

He heard murmuring in his ear but he couldn't focus on what it was saying. He wanted to get out of there but he was unable to move. He shook his head one more time trying to dispel the sudden fog that seemed to have descended on him. After what seemed like years he finally heard the voice of the man he trusted the most in his life.

He concentrated on that voice and soon every thing seemed to right it's self. The room stopped spinning, his vision cleared, and his brain seamed to start working again. He blinked several times as the light seemed harsher now. He came back to him self just as Ducky was preparing to give him a shot of something. Tony yelped and pulled back from Ducky as he exclaimed, "Hold on there Duckman I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet."

Ducky looked at him quizzically and after a minute asked, "Anthony are you back with us?"

Tony knew what Ducky meant but chose to use humor to lighten the situation, "Um I don't think I went any where Ducky."

Gibbs reached up to head slap him but Ducky quickly intervened and said, "Ah, ah Jethro I still have not determined whether or not our young lad here has a concussion so until then please refrain from hitting him on the head."

Gibbs looked down at Tony who was looking at him with a look that could be mistaken as pure innocence if you didn't know the man giving you the look and Gibbs knew him, knew him very well. So he just shook his head and said, "I'm putting it on your tab DiNozzo."

Tony grinned and said, "Thanks Boss."

Ducky quickly refocused Tony's attention by forcibly turning his head so that he was facing him directly and then began to assess Tony's injuries. Tony in his typical fashion squirmed and wiggled and was out right uncooperative. Ducky knew that this was just a rouse to try and distract him from when he would happen on something that was actually hurt, but he wasn't fooled so he ignored it all and did a thorough assessment. After about ten minutes of assessing him superficially Ducky finally said, "Alright Jethro lets get him down to my office so that I can do a more thorough examination and take some x-rays especially of that leg it looks like he might have done some real damage to it."

Tony was about to start protesting, but Gibbs placed a hand over his mouth and said, "I don't want to hear one complaint from you DiNozzo. As it is you need to save your voice to do some explaining."

With that Gibbs and McGee hauled a pouting DiNozzo to his feet and with an arm over each of their shoulders carried him onto the elevator. Tony was extremely embarrassed by not being able to walk by himself, but even he knew it was pointless. Cause for one he really couldn't support himself, and two even if he could they wouldn't let him.

* * *

Tony breathed as deeply as his ribs would let him; he shivered slightly as he was laid down on the cold autopsy table. He adjusted himself as much as he could without aggravating his injuries, for as much as he didn't want to admit it he did have injuries, and some of them were probably pretty severe. He closed his eyes and waited.

A few minutes passed before he had the sensation that he was being watched. He opened his eyes and saw that Gibbs was indeed starring at him so hard he thought his eyes might pop out of his head. Tony sighed again and said, "You know boss, glaring at me is not going to get you what you want."

"What I want DiNozzo," replied Gibbs as he walked over to the table, "Is for my senior field agent and the man who is like a son to me, to tell me just exactly what is going on here. Why didn't you tell me about them?"

Gibbs could see Tony trying to keep his emotions in check but wasn't having much luck with it. Finally after a few seconds Tony sighed heavily and said, "Probably for the same reason you never told me about your wife and daughter until after the explosion . . . It's just to painful Gibbs . . . It's like some thing is ripping my heart out of my chest every time I think about them . . . I can't imagine the pain of having to talk about them; even just thinking about it makes it so hard to breath. And the not so funny thing is, is that's exactly how I have felt since I lost them, like I couldn't breath. I hadn't been able to draw in a deep breath for years after I lost them. And then I met you and Abby and Ducky and suddenly it was like a little bit of that weight that was sitting on my chest was relieved, I still couldn't breath very well. I don't think I'll ever be able to again. Not really anyways. But suddenly I found that I was able to be a little bit happy again."

Gibbs just stood there and listened as Tony talked, he knew that the younger man must have been in a lot of pain to talk so freely. He reached out and gently smoothed the sweaty hair away from Tony's forehead. He smiled sadly and said, "I know how that feels Tony. I didn't think I would be able to live without my girls and to be honest I wasn't living until I met this crazy annoying, cop from Baltimore. You gave me a reason to open up again, you sure as hell didn't give me a choice in the matter."

Tony grinned and said, "That was just my way of coping boss. If you had seen the real me at that point I think even you would have run screaming in the other direction."

Gibbs snorted and said, "Marines do not runaway."

Tony let out a small laugh but then grimaced as it jostled his very tender ribs.

Gibbs scowled and said, "Why does it always happen to you."

Tony knew that it was a rhetorical question and just shrugged in response. The two men waited the rest of the time in silence. Soon Ducky arrived and said, "So sorry for the delay Jethro but I was delayed by director Vance and his guest, he wanted me to give him a preliminary report on our dear Anthony's condition."

Tony snorted and said, "So glad to know he cares."

Ducky shook his head and said, "Ah yes well I do imagine in light of certain circumstances he has grown a small amount of empathy for you. Being married and the father of two children I'm sure he is placing himself in your shoes and trying to imagine how he would cope if the same things happened to him."

Tony looked thoughtful for a minute then said, "Maybe, but it's probably more along the lines of he finally figured out that I have more of the skills he sees as valuable."

Ducky sighed heavily and said, "That may not be to entirely off the mark. Now young man lay still, and we will get this done and over with as soon as we can."

Tony smiled and said, "Lets just try and keep me out of the hospital Ducky."

"That young man," replied Ducky "is entirely out of my control. If I find any injuries that require hospitalization then that is what we will do. If not then you have lucked out. But something tells me that you were not so lucky eh?"

Tony clamed up at that comment, he knew that it would be pointless to argue with them. It didn't really matter any ways even if he did get admitted to the hospital he would just sign himself out AMA. So with that thought in mind he allowed himself to relax slightly and closed his eyes.

He suddenly let out hiss as Ducky palpitated over a sensitive area on his ribs. He squinted as he looked at Ducky who was exchanging worried glances with Gibbs. Tony smiled what he hoped was a relaxed and reassuring smile and said, "It's ok Ducky they're not broken, just really tender."

Ducky raised an eyebrow and replied disapprovingly, "My dear boy, the fact that you can tell the difference is quite unsettling."

Tony just grinned and said, "No offence Duck but I've been able to do that for a long time, even before I came to work here."

Ducky just shook his head and mumbled to himself as he prepared Tony for x-rays

* * *

Vance and the Director walked back into the bullpen to find Abby, McGee, and Ziva all starring at the plasma screen. On the screen were the note and all three pictures. Abby was up by the screen pointing at something and saying, "See here? I think that the sender intentionally left a fingerprint. It's like he is taunting us."

Ziva looked thoughtful for a minute before she said, "I agree but what is the point? Surely our mystery man would know that we would eventually catch up to him."

McGee got up from his desk and said, "Maybe not. Maybe our mystery man is so confidant in his abilities to hide himself that he thinks he can't be caught. Or he is trying to draw Tony out, to make it so he has a good chance at getting to him."

Vance and the Director chose that moment to step in and the Director asked, "Do you know whom the print belongs to?"

Abby nodded and put the picture up on the plasma, "It belongs to none other than one Gregory Ports. Who currently is working for none other than our very own Rolland Franklynns. He works as his body guard/ driver."

Vance looked thoughtful before he said, "And this would definitely tells us that Franklynns is the one trying to get to Tony and it supports the Directors theory here that Franklynns is going after all the people who he thinks betrayed him."

Every one was quiet for a while, as Vance chewed thoughtfully on a toothpick. After a few minutes he looked at McGee and Ziva and said, "Agent DiNozzo is under protective custody. I want you agent McGee to prepare our best safe house. And I want you Agent David to set up his protection detail."

McGee stepped forward and said, "With all due respect Director Vance, I don't think Tony is going to tolerate being locked away some where. Not on a good day, and especially not when he thinks we could use his help. Tony is not the kind to just sit on the side lines sir."

"What exactly are you trying to tell me agent McGee?"

McGee straightened his shoulders a little and said, "Well sir in all honesty, it wouldn't surprise me if Tony would some how manage to slip the protection detail and came back here to help out, or decided that he could manage on his own and make himself a target to draw whom ever is doing this out."

"So to be precise Agent McGee you are telling me that . . ."

"That it would be better and infinitely easier to protect Tony when he is hear with _us_. Where _we _will be able to keep a close eye on him. He is very good at giving people the slip Director, it's what he does, it's part of what makes him so good at undercover. It would be safer for him if he was around the people who know him the best and who know how to handle him."

Director Vance was thoughtful for a minute then asked, "Agent David, do you agree with agent McGee?"

Ziva nodded and said, "Absolutely Director. Tony is the kind of person who will not rest until he is sure that every one he cares about is taken care of, regardless of what that means for him. If he were to be sent away he would go crazy and then in turn do something crazy. Besides I feel like McGee that his skills are better put to use here."

The two Directors looked at each other and then Vance replied grimly, "You've made your case. The new orders are that you're team is DiNozzo's personal bodyguard. He is not to be alone. He does not go any where without one of you there. Once he is fit for desk duty he is not to leave this building. Do I make my self clear?"

McGee and Ziva both nodded solemnly. As they turned back to Abby and the plasma, Abby whistled low and said with a small smile, "Things just got a whole lot more interesting."

* * *

Down in autopsy Ducky and Gibbs were working very hard to keep an irritated DiNozzo from jumping ship on them. And he was giving them a run for their money.

Tony stood with his back against the wall shaking his head furiously and exclaimed. "No! No way am I going to the hospital! I want to stay here. I can help with the case. Please boss, don't make me go."

Tony's tone had turned pleading in the end and it made Gibbs really hate himself for this but Tony needed to be seen at the hospital, he had a broken leg for crying out loud. On top of several cracked ribs, a concussion, and multiple lacerations that needed stitching and bandaging. Gibbs took a deep breath and said, "You need to calm down. Your only making this worse by getting worked up."

Tony couldn't fault his boss's logic there. All the loud talking and shaking of his head were only making his concussion worse. And he knew that his body would be giving out any minute, but still he had to make them see he couldn't just go lay in a hospital bed while every one else worked around him. He needed to be involved he needed to be were the action was he just had to be working.

While he was distracted Gibbs had been able to get close enough to grab him and Tony suddenly found himself being pinned down on the ground by Gibbs and Palmer while Ducky quickly prepared a sedative for him. Tony struggled as much as he could but it was impossible to win against Gibbs, Palmer and, Ducky. They were all aware of Tony's aversion to needles. So Ducky being a kind soul turned to Gibbs and said, "Perhaps you could distract him Jethro?"

Gibbs nodded and said; "Tell me about your wife Tony."

Tony was quiet for a long time and Gibbs thought that he might not have heard him and was about to ask again when Tony answered him in a very soft voice, "She was the best boss. You would have liked her. She didn't have the red hair but she sure had the spirit. She was so damn feisty, she would tell you off for being rude or inappropriate like it was nothing. And then she could be the nicest person you would ever want to know. It didn't matter if she knew you or not she wouldn't hesitate for one minute to give you the shirt off her back."

"I swear I would get whiplash from her some times, cause one minute she would be all up in my face chewing me out for forgetting to take out the garbage or leaving my gym clothes all over, and then she would walk away and come back ten minutes later in tears because she felt awful for yelling at me. She really was like the perfect girl, you know boss? She was that perfect blend of silk and steel. She was all into sports and not afraid to get dirty and stuff like that but then she could turn right around and knit you a sweater or make you a blanket. And oh boy could she cook, and she would make some of the best damn cookies you could ever have. And she was really big in to family. Family meant everything to her,"

Gibbs looked down when a harsh sob escaped from Tony. He saw that there were tears in Tony's eyes and that he was trying to regulate his breathing. He wanted to distract Tony so he asked, "What were their names?"

Tony smiled slightly and said, "Shannon, but she preferred to be called Shay, and the girls their names were . . . Were Islah, and Maggie."

Gibbs found that suddenly he had to fight back his own emotions. He didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything he just hugged Tony a little closer to him. Tony seemed to understand what his boss was saying, there were some situations where words were not required.

As it turned out the distraction had worked and Ducky was done administering the sedative. He patted Tony's leg and said, "There, there lad now you will be able to rest."

Tony shook his head and said, "Don't wanna sleep Ducky. I wanna be working on who is trying to kill me now."

Neither Gibbs nor Ducky liked the tone of acceptance in Tony's voice. Gibbs gave him a little shake and said, "You know better DiNozzo you can't work your own case."

Tony just shrugged and said, "There is always the other case to work on too boss."

Ducky shook his head and said, "Anthony the only thing you are going to be working on is resting and getting better, at least for a day or two and then we shall see about light duty."

Tony sighed and scowled, he hated when they all ganged up on him. He instantly felt a little guilty for thinking that thought, in all fairness they were just looking out for his best interest. He suddenly realized that his eyes were becoming very heavy and every blink was a little harder to bring them back up.

Gibbs could see Tony fighting the sedative. He shook him a little and said, "Hey stop that."

Tony just scowled a little more and Gibbs said, "Let the medicine do its job Tony."

"Don't . . . Wanna . . . Sleep" replied Tony between yawns.

Gibbs looked worriedly over to Ducky and asked, "Why not Tony?"

"Cause then I'll dream of them and how I wasn't there to keep them safe." came the soft reply as Tony finally succumbed to the sedatives coursing through his system.

Gibbs and Ducky exchanged glances, Gibbs was about to say something when Palmer, who had gone to wait for the ambulance rushed into the room followed by the paramedic team. They quickly loaded a sleeping Tony and started out of the building. Gibbs held back and asked Ducky, "Do you mind going with him Duck? I need to stay here and over see things for a while. I'll come as soon as I can."

"Why of course Jethro. I dare say that Anthony is not going to be in a very good mood when he comes to and it would be in the best interest of the poor lad and the unfortunate hospital staff if some one he knows is with him."

Gibbs nodded and said, "My thoughts exactly Ducky. Just so you know he is under protective custody, he just doesn't know it yet."

"Oh my we are going to have our hands full aren't we?"

"Oh yah, plus I'm making Vance tell him." Replied Gibbs with an evil grin.

Ducky shook his head and said, "Now, Now Jethro you wouldn't perhaps be trying to punish our dear Director would you?"

Gibbs just shrugged his reply and walked out of autopsy, leaving Ducky standing they're shaking his head.

* * *

Gibbs walked into the bullpen and found that his Agents were nowhere to be found. He waited a few minutes to see if either of them would be back. When over five minutes passed and no one came, he headed down to Abby's to see if she had anything for him.

A few seconds later and he found to his surprise that Abby's lab was completely dark and void of its usual ear shattering music. Gibbs didn't like it. Something was off. He rested his hand on his gun and carefully entered the lab. He searched the room carefully before he headed into the office. He stopped and smiled at he sight that greeted him. There on the floor under a pile of blankets was McGee and Abby and Ziva were stretched out on the futon.

Gibbs looked at his watch and saw with some surprise that it was almost midnight. He knew his team were tired they had, had one hell of a busy month. It all started with a routine under cover that lasted two weeks, and then suddenly ended badly with Tony getting kidnapped and almost getting shot. It had been an extremely trying time for all of them especially Tony. After that op he had been very quiet and withdrawn. Of course Gibbs thought he could understand why now, if that's all there was to it. But Gibbs had a feeling that, that wasn't all there was to this whole situation. His gut was telling him that something else happened to his senior field agent while he was held captive. Something that hadn't left any physical marks.

* * *

_Hey every one here is the next chapter I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for the reviews and all the alerts and favs I really appreciate it. just a little note, the pronunciation for the name Islah is (eye-lah) like in island. Thanks again and hope you all have a great day._


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note—Hey everyone I just wanted to apologize for the long wait on this chapter. And I also wanted to let you all know that since I am a college student and working two jobs that I won't be able to respond personally to all of your awesome reviews that you guys leave for me. I don't want to offend anyone so this is just a heads up. But I will thank you all either at the beginning or end of my chapters. So without further ado here is the next chapter in this story and I hope you all enjoy it. :D

Disclaimer—I do not own

* * *

Chapter 4

Understanding

Ducky arrived at the hospital only minutes after the ambulance. He quickly made his way into the ER. Doing a very good impression of Gibbs as he demanded to be given all the information on his patient, and to be allowed back in the examination room with him.

The poor nurse never new what hit her, as she gaped at the older man, who appeared so gentle and yet was issuing commands and demands like he was an Admiral in the military. She spluttered and stuttered as she quickly acquiesced to his demands. And with in minutes she was showing the older man back to the exam room. Once in the room Ducky could see that Tony was awake now and that he was confused. Ducky quickly went to the head of the exam table were there was less staff and started talking soothingly to Tony.

Tony looked around bewilderedly trying to figure out just exactly were he was. Something felt very wrong; he felt like his heart was beating out of his chest, his eyes wouldn't focus, he couldn't get his brain to comprehend what was going on around him, and his breathing was also too fast, he didn't feel like he should be this panicked, and his hearing was also very muffled. He looked out the observation window of the room and his heart felt as if it had stopped. He shook his head trying to understand and make sure he wasn't seeing things because, he had to be seeing things there was just no way he was seeing what he was seeing, he knew it was a hallucination, he really did know it wasn't real; it couldn't be real, but also just like in his dream he knew he had to at least try and reach them, reach her.

His hallucination smiled her sweet sad smile at him and then waved at him just like in his dreams. She then blew him a kiss goodbye and walked away.

Forgetting where he was and oblivious to what was happening around him he used all of his energy and pulled himself up and with an out stretched arm he reached out for her and weakly called out, "Shay!" To his dismay his beautiful hallucination turned and walked away. Tony felt his heart stop again as grief and despair enveloped him. He quickly made up his mind that he wasn't going to let her get away again. This time he was going to follow her. He managed to slide off the table landing hard on his side, but he never felt a thing.

He never felt the several sets of hands on him holding him back, preventing him from moving to far. All he was reregistering was a sudden weight preventing him from moving as he wildly looked around, calling out frantically, "Shay! Please come back! I'm sorry! God I'm so sorry! Please don't leave me! Come back! Come back!"

He never felt the needle that pierced his skin; he never felt them intubate him after he went into respiratory distress, he never felt them fix his dislocated shoulder, or any of his other injuries as he blissfully allowed himself to sink down into the darkness.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS 

Twenty-Four Hours Later;

Tony tried to pry his eyes open but it was like some one had supper glued them shut. He fought a little harder to make his body function but after a minute he gave up. He knew what the problem was. They had sedated him; it was always like this when they sedated him. He only had use of some of his senses; he could hear, and feel, and smell. He stopped fighting his body and began to listen in to what was going on around him. He could smell coffee and sawdust so that meant that Gibbs was there. He could smell Ducky's unique cologne that he liked to wear. So that meant that Gibbs and Ducky were both in the room probably talking about him. He concentrated on what he was hearing; trying to catch what it was they were saying.

"How much longer Ducky?"

"Jethro you know I cannot give you an exact time on these kinds of things. Anthony will awaken as soon as his body is ready for it to and not a minute sooner."

"They stopped the sedation yesterday Ducky don't you think it's taking a little long for him to come out of it?"

"As I said before we all respond differently to sedation and as you well know Anthony is particularly sensitive to these kinds of medication. Plus with everything that he has been through in the last month I wouldn't be surprised if this was his body's way of copping and healing."

Tony didn't like the sound of what Ducky was saying. He thought to himself, 'Am I really hiding out in my own head?' he decided right then that if that was what he was doing then he had done enough of it and that it was time to come back to the real world and get back to work. With that decision made Tony focused all of his energy into opening his eyes. It seemed to take an extraordinarily long time but eventually he succeeded. He blinked several times against the harsh light of the fluorescents. He turned his head to the side and opened his mouth to call out to his friends, but found that his mouth was drier than cotton. He swallowed and then hoarsely called out, "Any chance I can get out of here today?"

Both men looked at him in surprise and then were instantly by his side. Helping him to sit up and giving him a drink of water. Tony drank as much as they would allow him to have and after a minute of trying to catch his breath he said, "I'm serious. I want out of here."

"Doc's say that as soon as you wake up and eat a little you can be discharged. Apparently your injuries aren't life threatening enough to force you to stay." Replied Gibbs with a small lopsided smile.

Tony sighed in mock annoyance saying, "I've gotta stay that long huh? Oh well bring on the food! I could eat a horse." He lied; actually he didn't think his stomach could handle more than a few bites of anything at the moment but if it got him out of the hospital sooner he was more than ready to force it down and pay the consequences later when he was alone.

Ducky shook his head, he knew exactly what his young friend was doing and he was not going to give him any false hopes, "Do not think that I am that easily fooled Anthony. I will be watching your health very carefully, and just because you are being released from the hospital does not mean that you can just jump back into work like nothing has happened. A condition of your release is that I will be overseeing your health care. So that means you will need plenty of rest and no exerting yourself."

"Aw come on Ducky." Whined Tony, "That's not fair. I can help and still take it easy. Seriously it's not very stressful for me to sit at a desk and type."

Ducky starred impassively at Tony for a few minutes before saying, "I will take that into consideration. You should count yourself very lucky young man that your shoulder is not in a sling right now."

Tony nodded happy enough with a maybe and though he didn't say anything about it he was quite glad that he had full use of his shoulder even though it was still a bit tender. He was just settling back into the mattress when, Brad, Dr. Cranston, his doctor from the ER and Vance all came into his room. Tony groaned and pulled the blanket up over his head when they all stopped at the end of his bed. Brad just shook his head and with a smile said, "I only need to draw some blood and listen to your lungs Tony and then I will leave you alone I promise."

Tony just groaned again and extended an arm from under the blanket. Brad laughed and walking up to his patient said, "You're gonna have to move the blanket. I can't listen to your lungs through it."

Tony threw the blanket back with a huff and scowled playfully at his friend. And then asked, "Couldn't this have waited until later? I mean I am coming in for my yearly next week."

Brad exchanged a look with Gibbs while he was listening to his patients' chest before he straightened up saying, "Well I figured that we might as well do it while you're already being held prisoner here."

Tony had seen the look that Brad and Gibbs had exchanged and suspiciously asked, "What's going on?"

Gibbs sighed and looking at the director said, "Well Vance here's your chance."

Vance scowled at Gibbs as he said, "Yes well agent DiNozzo I am supposed to tell you that from here on out you are under protective custody. You will have an agent with you at all times and you will be relegated to the Navy Yard until all of this is resolved. Your team will be serving as your protection detail."

Tony sat there stunned into silence. He couldn't make his mouth produce all the words that his mind was forming. Finally after a few minutes of just sitting there the only word that would come out of his mouth was, "No."

It wasn't even strong or forceful, just "No". Vance looked shocked for a few seconds before he said, "Excuse me?"

Tony looked the director in the eye and said, "No." this time with more force, "It's too dangerous. What if he comes after me again?"

Vance looked confused as he said, "That would be why you have a protection detail, so that if he does come after you again we will be able to stop him."

Tony shook his head saying, "But what if one of my team gets hurt? I don't want that kind of responsibility Director."

Vance sighed, now he knew why Gibbs insisted that he tell DiNozzo. The man wasn't going to give in easily. Taking a deep breath Vance switched into director mode and said, "Agent DiNozzo this is not up for discussion. I have ordered it and your team volunteered for the duty stating that you would respond better to having them there. And I suggest you thank your team because if it weren't for them talking me out of it, you would be on your way to a safe house right now on lock down. So I expect you to allow your team to do as they have been instructed and I do not want to hear about how you are giving them a hard time. Understood?"

Tony was distinctly not happy about it but muttered a yes sir any ways. Vance nodded and said to the room in general, "Good I need to get back I will see you all later."

With that he turned and walked out of the room. Gibbs had watched Tony's reactions throughout the whole thing and was mildly satisfied with the level of cooperation that was exuding from DiNozzo. He also noticed the apprehension that was coming off of him in large waves as he eyed the needle that Brad was preparing to draw blood with. Gibbs held onto Tony's shoulder while they waited and finally Brad turned towards them and said, "Ok now I need to draw a arterial blood gas, and then I will draw some regular labs also."

Tony instinctively held his arm closer to his chest, away from the menacing needle and asked anxiously, "Is that first one really necessary? We don't usually do that one."

Brad sighed heavily, he knew that it wasn't going to go over well; his patient was one of the most stubborn men that he had ever seen. Taking a deep breath he looked Tony directly in the eye and said, "Yes."

"Yes? That's all your going to say?"

"Yes."

Brad could see that Tony was getting frustrated and taking pity on his friend said, "Look. I know you don't like these and I don't blame you, but I have never done anything that wasn't necessary, right?"

Tony nodded slowly and Brad smiled and said, "Good now I am only drawing this because I noticed some congestion in your lower left lung so I am just covering all of my bases. Ok?"

After a minute of indecision Tony nodded and reluctantly held out his arm. He turned his face away and closed his eyes tight. He didn't care that he didn't look particularly macho or in control right at that moment. He just wanted to get this done and over with.

After what seemed like forever to Tony, Brad finally said, "There! All done."

Tony looked down at his wrist and scowled a little when he saw the nice bruise already starting to form. Brad just shook his head and began talking, "I'm going to be putting you on an antibiotic because of the congestion Tony and I want you to promise me that if it gets any worse you will not try and hide it."

Tony rolled his eyes saying, "It's not like I could hide it for very long anyways, not with Gibbs, Ducky and the whole damn building watching me."

He knew that he sounded like a petulant child but Tony found he was having a problem caring about it. He was pissed and he didn't care who knew about it. He just wanted out of the hospital, and he wanted to go back to work, and he just wanted to be left alone, no questions, no sympathetic looks, no poking, and no prodding. But it was looking less and less likely that, that was going to happen.

Tony was brought out of his musings when Gibbs gave him a very light head slap. He looked up at his boss and saw the understanding there in his eyes. Tony sighed heavily; he knew he could count on Gibbs if things got too hard for him to handle. He turned his attention back to the group of doctors that were all standing around him. He noticed that they were all looking at him expectantly. He moved himself into a better sitting position and said, "Sorry what was that?"

Brad just sighed and said, "I was just saying that I am hesitant to release you so soon . . ."

"Oh no, no, no!" Cried Tony, "I am not staying here any longer than is absolutely necessary!"

"I know that Tony," replied Brad with a little hint of impatience, "What I was going to finish saying was, I had my concerns but Ducky here said that he will keep an extra eye on it and alert me the minute anything becomes suspicious."

"Oh ok." Replied Tony as he visibly relaxed back against the bed. Brad just shook his head and looking at Gibbs and Ducky said, "I have to go, but I will call sometime in the next few days and arrange for him to come to me or for me to come to him. Either way I want to give him a checkup."

Both men agreed that, that would be fine and Brad left with a warning to Tony to behave himself.

Next was the doctor from the ER who introduced himself as Dr. Quinton. He was a giant of a man with a very meek manner. But Tony could tell that under that unassuming air was a will of steel. He figured that it would be best for all if he didn't try and fight this one. Though much to Tony's dismay Dr. Quinton was very thorough and insisted on doing a complete exam. Since the doctor was so thorough and careful the exam ended up taking almost an hour. This annoyed Tony, who only wanted to go home and be left alone, and led him to decide that once Dr. Quinton left, he was not staying put any longer. And he sure as hell wasn't going to be talking about anything with Dr. Cranston. Not that he had anything against her, but he wasn't going to spill his guts to her either. He had had plenty of that to last him for the rest of his life. So he waited patiently and as soon as the doctor announced he would be all right to leave Tony threw his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the pain in his ribs as he sat up saying, "Thanks Doc . . ."

"Not so fast Agent DiNozzo, "Called Dr. Cranston, "I haven't had my turn with you yet."

Tony smiled and said, "Sorry Rachel but I am not in the mood to have my head shrunk."

Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder and said, "You don't have a choice DiNozzo."

"But Boss!" Whined Tony, "That's not fair! I don't need to talk I'm fine!"

Gibbs just gave Tony one of his patented glares, and Tony being stubborn and desperate, ignored him and turned his attention to Ducky and Dr. Quinton for support. Ducky shook his head and said, "It is a condition of your release Anthony."

"That's right Agent DiNozzo," Supplied Dr. Quinton, "Any patient who experiences a psychotic episode must meet with one of the psychologist here on staff. You just happened to be lucky and got Dr. Cranston, which your friends here assure me is the best person for you as she has already worked with you before and knows all of your tricks."

Tony sighed and admitted defeat by throwing himself back on the bed, ignoring the pain in his ribs and shoulders. He rolled his eyes as Ducky began scolding him and repositioning him properly on the bed, "Honestly Anthony if I didn't know better I would think you were trying to make your stay here in the hospital longer, throwing yourself around like that."

Tony allowed Ducky to fuss over him, while he personally was trying to get himself under control for when he began his talk with Rachel. He didn't want to accidentally say more than he had to. "There you go Anthony all situated."

He smiled at Ducky and said, "Thanks Ducky I appreciate the help."

Ducky patted him on the shoulder saying, "Any time my dear boy, anytime."

Dr. Cranston pulled a chair up to the side of the bed saying, "Alright gentlemen I'll take over now. So if you could give us about two hours I would appreciate it."

Gibbs gave Tony a look that asked, 'are you gonna be ok?'

Tony swallowed and nodded, he was gonna be ok. He may not like the fact that he had to talk about all of this but he was gonna be fine. He trusted Rachel to not be too pushy and ask for more than he could give.

Seeing Tony's nod Gibbs and Ducky left the room with the promise that they would bring back some edible food for him. Once they were gone Tony turned to Dr. Cranston and said, "Let's get this over with."

Dr. Cranston just smiled and replied as she sat down, "All in due time."

Tony just rolled his eyes and got himself more comfortable on the bed. They spent a few minutes just staring each other down, finally Dr. Cranston leaned forward saying, "Tell me about your wife."

Tony remained quiet for a minute while he tried to formulate his response, finally he said, "Well we met while I was working in Peoria and we got married there and then not to long after we were married we moved to Philly where we had the girls and then I was sent on an undercover mission and it's while I was gone that they were . . . were killed." He found that his throat had suddenly gone very dry as he was talking and he could barely swallow.

Dr. Cranston handed him a glass of water which he held onto for dear life. She could tell that this was going to go one of two ways, either he was going to clam up or he was going to have a break down. She knew that was mean of her but she was kinda hoping that it would be the later of the two. She could see that he desperately needed to get this off of his chest before it all exploded on him.

"You blame yourself for their deaths don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Tony cried forcefully, "I wasn't there to protect them! I wasn't where I should have been. I was off on some stupid mission."

"But that's not your fault. You couldn't have been there as you said you were on a mission."

"That's not the point!" Yelled Tony while he mentally cursed himself for getting so worked up, why did Rachel have to go for the tender spots? He took a deep breath and said more calmly, "It was one of the people from my past who took them from me. It was because they were mad at me that they took my family away from me. So yes I consider it to be my fault because they were after me and I wasn't there to protect my family."

Dr. Cranston nodded and decided not to push that subject to hard right now. She was more than aware of Tony's ability to carry quilt unnecessarily and knew that she wasn't going to be able to convince him that it wasn't his fault at all. She smiled slightly and asked, "Why don't you tell me about your daughters?"

She was slightly taken aback at the tender smile that crossed Tonys' face as he thought about his girls. She had never seen him look so gentle and happy. She waited until Tony felt like talking and her patience paid off and soon Tony started talking with a dream like quality to his voice, "They were a lot like their mother. I mean they looked like me but their attitude was entirely from their mother. They had me wrapped around their little fingers. I just couldn't get enough of them. And boy were they smart, which is something else they got from their mom. They were the happiest kids always smiling and laughing."

"They sound a lot like you Tony."

Tony smiled slightly and said, "That's what Shay used to tell me. She would swear up and down that they were just like me but I would swear back that they were just like her. It was one of our ongoing love fights."

"Love Fights? I don't think I've ever heard of that."

"Yah well I'm not surprised it was just something that she called it one time and it just stuck. Really all it is, is good natured bickering, so we would almost always end it with an agreement to just disagree and a kiss that would usually end up in a make out session or two."

Dr. Cranston sat back and watched the dream like quality passed over Tony's face she thought about why some one would hide their most inner self from the world once they had been hurt. Tony was the classic example once his heart had been shattered he hid his soft somewhat Geeky side behind the frat boy mask so that he could not have to deal with the hurt and keep himself from getting hurt again. Thinking back she realized that Tony intentionally dated the wrong kind of women so that he wouldn't be able to make that important connection and allow himself to settle down and commit again. A whole new side of his personality just became painfully obvious. She smiled saying, "What about Shay? What was she like?"

Again that dreamlike quality came over Tony and he looked out the window, it was raining now and he couldn't help but think that it was somehow extremely appropriate that it was. He sighed heavily as he said, "She was smart, funny, kind, tough and yet extremely gentle. She loved most sports, but she also loved the more girly things too. She definitely had a feisty side and a temper, but she had a long fuse and hardly ever got angry or anything like that, it was just once you crossed that line there was no going back, but it wasn't like she stayed mad, it was more like a flash fire you know? One minute its there and the next it's gone. She would still make us sit and talk it out but she wasn't angry or upset any more."

"She sounds like a very interesting girl."

"She was the best. She was my best friend. I could tell her anything and she always knew exactly what I needed to hear and she was never afraid to tell me exactly like it was."

Tony who had been looking at Dr. Cranston turned back to look out the window; the silence in the room was slightly stifling. Rachel seemed to be thinking hard and after a few seconds she said, "Tell me about how you two met."

Tony smiled slightly as he said, "that is a good story. One I think even Ducky would appreciate."

"I am intrigued." Smiled Dr. Cranston, "Tell me about it."

"We'll you see it all started when I was just a patrol cop and I was out one day doing my job when . . . "

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS— Flash back — NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

_"Holy shit did you see that car? It must have been going 90."_

_The man in the passenger side looked up form his book saying, "Well let's go then."_

_The police car put on its lights and took off after the other vehicle, finally getting it to pull over after a few miles of chasing. The cop on the passenger side slowly got out of the car and walked towards the stopped vehicle. He could see from a distance that the driver was a young woman. He approached the door and tapped on the window, motioning for the woman to roll it down. What he saw when she turned to look at him was not what he was expecting. The woman was more like a girl in the age department; she didn't look like she was more than seventeen, she had her hair pulled back in a messy sophisticated way, with dark eye liner being the only make up she wore, which contrasted with the delicate silver necklace and matching silver hoops that she was wearing. She was also dressed in a graduation gown and he could see her cap sitting on the seat next to her. He was drawn out of his assessment when the young girl began pleading with him; "Oh please officer DiNozzo," She had to pause a second to read his name, "Please let me off this one time? I'm the valid Victorian for my graduating class and I am running so late. Please, please, please let me go."_

_He looked her up and down a few times noting how her bright hazel eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and how she was slightly flushed giving her a light pink tinge to her face effectively giving her a peaches and crème complexion. He could see the earnestness in her face and he wasn't sure why but he was having serious conflicting issues. He knew what he should do and then there was what he wanted to do._

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS— End Flash Back—NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

"Wait!" Cried Dr. Cranston, "You didn't seriously give her a ticket on her graduation day did you?"

Tony sighed dramatically and said, "No! I ended up giving her a warning and escorting her to the college, which by the way she got there in time for her to walk in with her class and be seated with them. So it's not like she was late walking in and making a scene."

"Oh ok. I bet that caused quite a stir."

"It did. She was so embarrassed. Everyone was talking about it."

"So did you guys start dating after that?"

"Uh no. It was a couple of months later that we met up again."

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS— Flash back — NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

_Tony DiNozzo slowly and painfully made his way through the building on his crutches. He had just been released by his doctor to start physical therapy after nearly eight weeks of being non weight bearing on his right leg. He smiled at the receptionist as he made his way past the door she was holding open for him. She led him back to a screened off area and said as he sat on a chair, "Your therapist will be with you shortly." _

_He nodded his thanks and settled in to wait. He was used to this kind of thing and knew how long he could be waiting. To his surprise though the curtain around his cubicle was pulled back after just a few minutes and he was face to face with a very familiar person and she was smiling knowingly at him. Tony smiled hesitantly and said, "High."_

_The therapist smiled back and said, "High yourself. Still terrorizing the highways?"_

"_Ah no . . . um actually I made detective about four months ago."_

"_Well Detective DiNozzo," said the therapist with a slight emphasis on his name, "I just wanted to tell you that you caused quite a stir when you escorted me into my graduation. All the other students couldn't stop talking about it."_

_Tony blushed slightly and with a hint of sarcasm said, "Just doing my job ma'am."_

_The therapist smiled with a slightly evil smile, causing Tony to wince slightly as she said, "Well looks like I'll be able to return the favor." _

_Tony knew then that he was in for a healthy dose of pay back.  
_

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS— End Flash Back—NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

"So you started dating then?"

"Well kinda, you see I had about a month of physical therapy four times a week and after that first time she called us even and we started to talk and just like that we were friends. We couldn't technically date because I was a patient of hers, so once I was done with my last physical therapy session and she had discharged me she asked me to have dinner with her and her family as friends. Of course by then I couldn't refuse her anything, so I said sure. I mean she knew about my family or lack thereof, and she knew that I would be uncomfortable so she did her best and kept it all really light and I ended up having a great time and at the end of the night she asked me out on a date. At first I was hesitant because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I wasn't any better at relationships then as I am now. But she told me that she wanted to try and if it didn't work out then it didn't work out and we could still be friends."

Dr. Cranston sat back in her chair with an amused smile on her face and after a minute of silence said, "I can't get over the fact that she ended up being your physical therapist. I can honestly say I wish I could have met the woman who caught Anthony DiNozzo."

Tony looked appropriately indignant as he cried out in mock annoyance, "Hey! I wasn't always a ladies man. I mean I dated but nothing like I have these last few years, and if you must know I was kind of a nerd."

Dr. Cranston laughed and said, "Oh Tony I don't think you could ever be considered a nerd."

Tony shook his head saying, "You don't know what your talking about Rachel, I was as my friends called me a nerd in Jocks clothing. I used to get teased a lot about my grades. I would even get some bad grades on purpose just so I wouldn't stand out as much."

Dr. Cranston nodded saying, "That actually makes sense Tony, and it explains a lot about you. In fact this whole situation has opened up a new side to you and I must say I am impressed. I mean I always knew that there was more to you than meets the eye I just never guessed that it was so much."

"What can I say," replied Tony with a shrug, "I am a multifaceted puzzle."

Dr. Cranston sat back in her chair and after watching silently for a few minutes asked, "What did you do after they died? How did you grieve?"

Tony sighed and said softly, "At first I was too numb to do anything and then after about a month of being numb it was like I was overly sensitive, everything was in over drive my hearing, my taste, my sense of touch, my vision, even smells were overbearing. I couldn't cope so I started drinking and going out. I was drunk most of the time and when I wasn't drunk I was to hung- over to notice and of course I wasn't eating and not sleeping. My squadron finally pulled an intervention type thing and slipped a sedative into my coffee. Was out for three days, I was so sleep deprived, when I did finally come too they sat me down and told me how it was. After that little incident I put on my best face I went back to work, I got sober, haven't had more than two drinks at a time since then, couldn't eat too much or too often at first but eventually my appetite came back. I never was able to sleep the same way again."

Dr. Cranston sighed heavily and asked, "Did you ever cry or talk to someone about all of it?"

Tony just looked at her and said, "No." short and simple, to the point and quite obviously the end of that question. Dr. Cranston sighed and said, "Tell me about what you saw when you were hallucinating."

Tony had gone back to looking out the window and watching the rain. He sighed heavily and said, "I just . . . I just saw her. Like I do in my dreams. She was perfect and whole and so gorgeous. I just couldn't help it. I mean I knew it wasn't real, I knew even then that she was dead and that there was no way she could really be there but it's just one of those things that you wish so hard for and I just couldn't stop my self form calling out to her, also just like in my dreams the more I try to get to her the faster she disappears and just like in my dreams even though I know the out come I still try, every damn time I try, just in case this that time I make it. Just in case maybe this time is the time I actually get to hold her again."

Dr. Cranston couldn't stop the tear that slid down her cheek at his heart-felt confession. She looked down at her watch as a way to hide her obvious emotional display, and noticed that their two hours were over by fifteen minutes. She smirked slightly and wondered what was keeping Gibbs from barging in on them. She looked up with a smile and said, "Well you have lucked out and my time is up. I think it safe to release you."

Tony smiled a sad smile saying, "So I'm not crazy after all?"

Dr. Cranston shook her head and said, "No. No Tony you're not crazy. You're just a man who is still grieving the loss of his family."

Tony nodded silently and then said, "I don't think I will ever get over it."

Dr. Cranston shrugged and said, "For some people they never do. But remember Tony you have a different kind of family now that can maybe help ease the burden."

With that Dr. Cranston stooped and picked up her bag saying, "I want to see you twice a week for the next month."

Tony's eyes bulged and he was beginning to protest when Dr. Cranston cut him off and saying, "No worries I'll set it up with Ducky and Gibbs and I will be coming to you so you don't have to worry about having to come to my office." She turned and walked out the door saying, "See you in three days Tony."

Out in the hall she stopped when she ran into Gibbs and Ducky. She smiled as she said, "He's good to go, but I want to see him twice a week for the next month, I'll be calling to arrange it all. Will that work for you?"

Gibbs looked at Ducky and then back to Dr. Cranston and shrugging said, "As long as you know what you're getting into Doc its ok by me."

"Oh believe me Agent Gibbs I know exactly what to expect." Replied Dr. Cranston with a slightly evil looking grin as she walked away.

As the two men watched her walk away Gibbs said to Ducky, "I don't envy DiNozzo right now."

Much to Gibbs's surprise Ducky shook his head in agreement and said, "Nor do I Jethro, Nor do I."

Both men looked at each other again before heading into the hospital room to find Tony so upset that Gibbs was sure he saw smoke coming out of his ears.

NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS

Some where in the FBI building;

"Special Agent Ron Sacks. Wait! — What? —No do not do that! — Please just listen to me. —Look I know how hard this is, but— No really you have to understand that if you do this now everything we have worked for will be in jeopardy. — Please just give me a few more days to get this all figured out ok? —Thank you. — I know. I will get back to you as soon as I can. —Be safe and don't take any chances."

Agent Sacks sighed as he hung up the phone and rubbed his temples. He could already tell that this was going to be a busy couple of days. He knew he needed help and he knew just the man to call.

He picked up his phone again and dialed. After waiting a few minutes a voice on the other end answered, "Hello?"

Taking a deep breath Sacks spoke quietly into the receiver, "Hollywood is making a break for it."

* * *

Hey everyone I just wanted to say thank you to all who reviewed and faved my story I really appreciate the support. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always please R&R, it makes me so very happy when you do. :D


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer—I do not own.

A/N: So I'm not gonna lie I was kinda disappointed that I only got eight reviews for the last chapter but I guess eight is better than none :)) So I'm gonna say thanks to all eight of you were very kind to leave me a review, and to those of you who hit those faves and follow buttons; thanks to you too. It really means a lot to me. So without further ado here is the next chapter it's kinda short but that's ok. Oh and Happy Thanksgiving.

Chapter 5

Between a Rock and Gibbs

* * *

Tim, Ziva, and Abby were all working in Abby's lab. Tim and Abby were currently at the counter in trying to crack the encryption code on the flash drives from Tony's old mission, but they weren't having much luck. And Ziva was standing in the back talking on the phone to one of her contacts. They all jumped when Vance and the Director walked into the room. The Director walked up behind Tim and Abby saying, "You know you're not going to crack it."

Abby turned back to look at him and asked, "Why's that?"

"Because the commander is the leading authority on encryptions and hacking, believe me when I say I have had the best of the worlds' best work on it and no one can get past his encryptions. He told me once that it has something to do with some safety sequence that is built into all of his codes. He said that when you start hacking, it automatically starts this scrambling program and every time you hit a wrong key it scrambles the code. He told me it has infinite possibilities of combinations to choose from and that there's a one in one billion chance of getting the code right."

"So how do you decrypt it then?" Asked Abby; looking very disheartened.

"That is beyond my level of understanding" Replied the Director with a shrug, "Only the Commander knew for sure which ones went were and he only confided in his wife so I'm sure she knew as well. But beyond that he would give us five possibilities and then we had to figure out which codes went with which flash drives and so on. And only he had the master combination to all of his codes."

Abby looked over to Tim who was sitting with his mouth hanging open. She gently closed it for him saying, "Well I guess we'll just have to wait for Tony to get back which should be just about any time any time now."

And sure enough a few minutes later the doors to her lab opened with a swoosh and in came the trio all looking a little worse for wear. A very unhappy Tony came through the doors first being pushed in a wheel chair by Gibbs while Ducky followed behind them. Tony was doing a pretty good imitation of a Gibbs death glare while Gibbs was glaring at the back of Tony's head looking as though he would happily strangle him at the provocation. And Ducky was looking decidedly worn out.

Abby rushed up to the trio exclaiming, "OMG! I missed you guys so much! I know it's only been like two days, but seriously two days is a long time in Abby land! And I was so worried and I couldn't stop thinking about every that has happened and everything that could happen and there're just so many scenarios, and you all know my imagination and how it can get away from me and . . ."

She stopped talking suddenly when she saw that Tony was starring darkly off into the distance she instantly felt bad and said, "and I'm rambling. I'm sorry."

Tony immediately felt bad for being in a foul mood; he realized that they all needed him to be his normal self just as much as he needed them to treat him normally. He decided that he was going to put all of his best effort into trying to act normally and quickly reassured her, "Hey, its ok you wouldn't be my Abby if you didn't ramble a little bit. In fact I'm not sure I would understand what you were saying if you didn't ramble. It's what makes you special and I love it . . ." They all watched while he swallowed hard and then said, "It's . . . it's something my wife used to do, so . . . so please don't feel bad about it."

Abby looked down sheepishly. She grabbed Tony's good hand and said, "I'm so glad your back. I wanted to come see you in the hospital but Gibbs said we needed to stay here and work on the case and all that but, other than figuring out who attacked you we haven't gotten very far, and" She suddenly stooped down and wrapped Tony in a bear hug saying, "And I really missed you and I just wanted you to know that." She backed up after she had hugged him to satisfy her standards and said, "We've been trying to break . . ."

Ducky who stepped forward cut her off, "That will have to wait Abigail. Anthony needs to rest for a bit and then he may assist you with your technical problems." Ducky's voice carried an edge to it that was not normally heard and so shocked the occupants of the room. And they all watched to see Tony's reaction.

No one missed the look of annoyance that flashed across Tony's face at Ducky's words. Tony looked levelly at Ducky saying, "I really don't think that's necessary Ducky. I told you before I'm really not tired after the nap I took in the hospital and all the sleeping I did in the car. I think I will be ok for an hour."

Ducky shook his head. He was determined to hold his ground no matter what, "We have already gone over this Anthony. You must follow my instructions if you do not wish to land your self back in the hospital. And besides I know how you operate, once you get going you will not stop until it is all done. A trait that I applaud you for, but right now it will cause more harm than helpfulness. You need rest and I intend to see that you get it, and if that means that I have to truss you up like a turkey and sedate you then I will."

No one missed how Gibbs was standing off to the side being moodily quiet and standoffish during the whole ordeal with Tony and Ducky. Normally he would have been in there right away ordering DiNozzo's cooperation. But now he was leaning against the wall steadfastly ignoring every thing around him except for Tony. He was starring intently at DiNozzo almost as if he could silently will him to cooperate. Abby alone noticed the twitch in his hands, almost as if he wanted to reach out and head slap Tony but was forcing himself to hold off.

In a very uncharacteristic out burst Tony threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed, "You know what I have had it! If you're all so keen on sedating me and force feeding me, and cracking my head open like a nut then here have at it." He temporarily forgot about his resolve to act normally and decided that he just couldn't take any more of this—what ever it was that they were doing and that he needed a break. But first he needed to help them out and since he wasn't going to be able to help directly, he figured that he could at least give them a little boost.

And with that Tony pushed himself up from the wheel chair and limped as quickly as he could into Abby's office where her futon was ready and waiting for him. He stopped at the desk for a minute and after quickly scribbling down some numbers and letters he limped back out and handing the paper to McGee said, "These are the master passwords for those flash drives. Guard them with your life and then after you've copied the files burn this and the flash drives. I'm trusting you Tim to not let any one," Tony discreetly nodded his head in the direction of the Director, "get ahold of this. It's got some of my best work on it."

With that he gave a curt nod to everyone in the room and limped back into the office, slamming the door behind him and locking it from the inside. Every one was quiet for a minute and then Abby turned to Gibbs and Ducky, and with her hands on her hips glared at them demanding, "What did you do to him?"

Gibbs looked at Ducky and said, "Do you want to tell them or should I?"

"We might as well do it together Jethro." Replied Ducky with a sigh. "You see due to a mixture of over medication and the wrong medicine Anthony experienced some hallucinations and the hospital decided that they couldn't release Anthony unless he had seen a therapist. Well you can all imagine how well that went over, it helped some that Dr. Cranston was there to perform the evaluation, after which she informed him that she wanted to meet twice weekly for the rest of the month. Well Anthony did not take that well at all. And then on top of that they would not release him until he had eaten what the hospital thought was a sufficient amount of food, and we all know that Anthony's appetite tends to disappear when he is injured. So it took quite a bit of nagging and cajoling to get that done, and then his doctors where insistent that he rest. They actually wrote an order for bed rest just before we left and since I agreed to oversee his medical care in turn for him being released early I have to at least try and get the lad to rest as much as I can."

Gibbs stepped in then saying, "And on top of all that Tony's not handling being under protection very well and feels bad for putting you guys in danger and he is having a hard time with all the other emotional stuff as well. I know what it's like to have to relive the most painful time of your life over again, to have it hashed out and broken down. So I think that Tony just needs some time to himself. To think and come to terms with everything that has happened in the last few days."

Abby looked sadly into her office and exclaimed, "Poor Tony! He's so sad! I whish there was something that we could do for him."

Ducky grinned saying, "Actually Abigail I think there is something that you could do for him that would help him tremendously."

Abby cocked an eyebrow at Ducky and tilted her head to the side saying, "Just what exactly are you think here Ducky?"

Ducky's grin turned into a smile as he said, "Well my dear with the permission of Director Vance I would like to plan a movie night for Tony."

Abby squealed and jumped up and down as she said, "Oh that is so perfect Duck-man! Tony will love it! What do you need me to do?"

"I'm glad you approve Abigail," replied Ducky with a nod of his head, "What I need you to do is take Ziva with you and go to Anthony's apartment; gather how ever many movies you think we will need to keep our young man entertained. Also I need you to gather clothes for him to wear, and make sure that you pay special attention to bringing his computer and his books. Gather all these up and come back here. I will send out Mr. Palmer and Timothy to get refreshments and of course the main food when it is closer to time. Now I would like to keep this as low key as we can, I would like for it to be a nice surprise for him."

Abby hugged Ducky as hard as she could before she took off dragging a slightly startled Ziva behind her; Gibbs stepped forward then shaking his head and saying, "You sure he will be up for this Duck?"

Ducky sighed saying, "I can only hope he will take it as the peace offering that it is Jethro."

Gibbs patted Ducky on the shoulder before he headed out of the lab. He had just turned the corner heading towards the elevator when he heard frantic whispering coming from over by the janitors' closet. He walked over careful to not make any noise. He stopped a few feet away when he saw that it was the Director and listened intently, "What do you mean? No! They can't do that! Listen; you tell her that she's the one who agreed to see this through for all of their safety. You tell her that unless she wants them coming after them again she had better stay put. Is that understood lieutenant? Good let me know what she has to say."

Gibbs quickly backed up and headed for the elevator. His mind was reeling with what he had just heard. He had no proof that it had anything to do with them and the case they were working on, except his gut was telling him that the two cases were connected and the connection was Tony. He acted naturally when the Director came up behind him and walked onto the elevator with him. Gibbs could feel the tension coming off the man in waves and had to bite back the urge to interrogate him. Gibbs finally pulled the emergency stop on the elevator and with out turning said, "I get the feeling that you aren't giving me all the information Director."

The Director calmly replied, "Believe me agent Gibbs I am not withholding any pertinent information. What I have told you is what you need to know."

Gibbs started the elevator again and just as the Director was walking off said, "You had better hope that, that's true Director; for your sake and for Tony's."

With that Gibbs let the elevator doors close, cutting off his view of the Director. He leaned back against the walls and hopped that there wouldn't be any more surprises. He didn't think they could handle any more surprises, especially not Tony.

* * *

Hey every one I sure would appreciate it if you could all leave me a nice review for Thanksgiving =D. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer—I do not own. **

**A/N: Hey guys so, so, so sorry for the wait on this chapter, it just didn't want to be written. Also on a side note I am looking for a beta. I had an offer a while ago, but I accidentally erased the message and I can't remember whom it was from. So if you are interested or know of some one who would be, please let me know. Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also thank you all so much for all those awesome reviews I really loved reading them.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Family

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

Tony lay on the futon in Abby's office for over an hour trying to force him self to sleep before he finally gave up with a heavy sigh. He knew it was pointless to even try. His brain was much to fired up to let him sleep and he was much to emotionally upset to try and shut it down. He didn't want to but he couldn't stop thinking about everything that he and Dr. Cranston had talked about. Some of those things he had never discussed with any one not even the men from his unit. Who had pulled him back from the brink of self-destruction; he hung his head low thinking, _'Damn I __**really**__need a drink!'_

As he sat there an idea of were he could get that drink came to him. He lifted his head up and stretching so that he could look out the glass walls with out getting up. He looked to see if there was anyone on guard duty. Not seeing anyone out there he smiled slightly to himself. He stood slowly; he didn't want to risk falling. He may not like all the attention but he wasn't stupid. He knew better than to move to fast with the way he was feeling. What really drove him mad was not the fact that his team wanted to help him, but that they seemed to think that he was completely incapable of making any decisions at all while he was injured.

Tony smiled when he made it all the way out into the main lab without incident. And his smile grew when he saw the pair of crutches that were left for him by the door. He figured that he at least owed them all an apology for loosing his temper like that. He hated when he lost his temper. It made him feel like his father and that was the last person he wanted to emulate.

He gingerly put the crutches up under his arm and slowly put his weight down on them. He smiled even more when he realized that his arm was not as sore as it had been earlier and that using the crutches was going to be doable. He didn't waste any time in heading for the elevator and then down to autopsy. He hoped there wouldn't be any one in there right then. As much as he felt bad for loosing his temper, he really didn't want or need another lecture about taking better care of himself from Ducky.

All he wanted was half a glass of whisky, not enough to make him buzzed but just enough to take the edge off. He just wanted the burn of the whisky to chase away this shlump that he currently found himself in; it was all just too much for him to process. He hated feeling this way. That was why he never discussed his feelings if he could help it. Rehashing all of the ugliness that was his past, and facing it head on was one of the scariest things he never wanted to do. Yet it was the one thing that they all seemed determined that he should do. He wished that he could get them to back off the idea for a while but it didn't look like it would be happening any time soon.

Tony was pulled out of his musings when the elevator came to a stop and with a ding opened onto the hall leading to autopsy. He quickly and quietly made his way down the hall keeping his senses alert for any sudden appearances. His team, and especially Gibbs, had a bad habit of coming out of nowhere and surprising you. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he finally entered autopsy to find it dark and empty.

He made his way over to Ducky's office and sitting down at his desk, pulled open the one draw that he knew would hold what he was looking for. He looked around one more time to make sure that he wasn't going to be suddenly disturbed and then with a satisfied smile pulled out the bottle of whiskey and a tumbler. He poured himself half a glass full and then swallowed it back in one go.

It had the desired effect that he was looking for. But what he hadn't counted on was the sudden head rush. He had thought the majority of the meds would have been out of his system by then. He tried to stand up but that only caused him to feel even dizzier and the dizziness along with his instability and gravity together worked to bring him down on his ass. Once again missing the chair by a few inches and landing solidly on his bum.

It stunned him and he just sat there feeling shocked and slightly upset. He was suddenly overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the last few days and he found himself fighting desperately for control over tears that he had never let himself cry. That had always been the one habit his wife could never break him of, the need to remain strong all the time. To never show weakness. And now he sat there on the floor of autopsy struggling to breath and to hold back the damn that was bursting to break through. It was a heavy invisible blanket that had settled over him, smothering him. He suddenly found himself having to take deep breaths to steady himself.

He didn't know how long he sat there gasping for breath, trying to get himself under control, before another body pressed up against him and gently wrestled the tumbler—that he hadn't even realized that he was still holding onto as if his life depended on it—from his hands. Large callused hands cupped him on the back of the neck and drew him forward until his head rested on broad shoulders.

Tony inhaled deeply and took in the comforting scents of sawdust, old spice, and coffee. He felt the thumb at the back of his neck begin to gently stroke at the base of his scalp. It moved gently back and forth and little circular motions, easing the tension there. Tony began to work even harder to reign in his emotions as he felt the administrations of his boss begin to relax his body regardless of whether he wanted it to or not.

Gibbs sighed when he felt Tony's body go tense with trying to remain in control. He positioned them so that they were both more comfortable and then in a low voice said, "Come on son let it out."

Tony's breath hitched at those words. He had always wanted to cry and scream and shout and hurt some one, but then had never allowed himself that luxury because he felt that he had no right to that release. He began to blink rapidly, but before he could really think twice about it the tears began to flow freely down his face and soak into Gibbs' shirt. Gibbs for his part just sat there with him, rocking back and forth, soothing him and allowing him to vent all of his pent up frustration and grief.

Tony grabbed that back of Gibbs's shirt as if it were his only lifeline. He was mortified by the loud gasping sounds and sobs that were coming from him-self and the way his whole body was heaving with the sobs but he couldn't seem to get himself to stop either. They sat there for what seemed to be a good long time he couldn't be sure of just how long. He was sure of one thing however and that was that he was beyond exhausted and was definitely having a hard time keeping his eyes open now.

He hadn't realized just how much he had bottled up and kept inside of him. He felt as though he had lost about ten pounds off his shoulders. He felt himself slowly starting to give in to his tiredness. With everything that had happened in the last couple of days he hadn't slept much and the weeks before all of this had been filled with back-to-back cases and then the FUBAR of an undercover op had happened. He realized that it had been over a month since he had, had a decent nights sleep without any interruptions.

He hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep until he felt himself being moved around but he was too tired to fight with Gibbs. So he allowed himself to be rearranged and made more comfortable. He sighed when he realized that this new position did in deed make a big difference. He felt his shoulder being rubbed in a soothing and distracting. Quickly lulling him back to that blessed darkness. He was just about to go under when he heard the doors once again swish open.

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

Abby's lab:

Ducky walked in through the doors to Abby's lab to find that her music was blaring and that she and Ziva were working on arranging some things for their movie night later on. He stopped beside her and picked up three of the movies that she had selected for them to watch. He looked at them a minute before asking, "Abigail, are you sure you should be playing such loud music with Anthony sleeping in the other room?"

Abby looked at him like he was crazy while she said, "Ducky; Tony's not here. Gibbs went to find him and said he would be calling you when he did. OMG! He hasn't called you yet! That was like over an hour ago! What . . . what if Tony went out side for some fresh and some how got kidnapped and we didn't know it. What if something has happened to him?"

Ducky placed a soothing hand on her arm saying, "Abigail calm your self Anthony knows better than to leave the building. I'm sure Jethro's just taking his time and perhaps he has gotten young Anthony to talk to him a little. I dare say that would be quite a feat all in it's sel—,"

Ducky stopped mid-sentence when his phone started ringing. He looked at the screen and seeing whom it was smiled saying, "Well speak of the devil. Well hello Jethro. You found him. Good. He did_ what_? No, no I understand. Yes I will be right down. Yes I will make sure to grab all the necessary supplies. I dare say he should be sleeping quite comfortably for the next several hours the sodded fool."

Ducky hung up his phone and shook his head and looking up to his two onlookers said, "Jethro has found Anthony and he seems to be no worse for wear. I am going to go to them now and help Jethro bring Anthony back here so that he can sleep more comfortably."

Abby nervously stepped forward asking, "What did Tony do Ducky?"

Ducky debated a minute not knowing whether or not he should tell them but then he figured that there wasn't really any harm in them knowing, it could actually be helpful for them to know so that they could help them keep an eye out in the future. Taking a deep breath he began, "Anthony procured himself some whiskey. It appears to have had some adverse effects on the poor lad. Gibbs isn't sure how much he has had. So I am going down there to asses him and determine the damage if there is any."

Abby sighed heavily saying, "Poor Tony! You know I've only ever seen him drink like that twice? Once when Kate was killed and then when the Jeanne mess happened. He must be feeling so awful right now."

Ducky nodded thinking about those times as well. He sighed heavily saying; "Yes this is indeed a very stressful time for Anthony. And normally I wouldn't begrudge a person their coping mechanism. But in Anthony's case he still has quite a few of the medications from the hospital still floating around in his system and then the added painkillers and muscle relaxants that I have given him, although mild still have their side affects. Let it suffice to say that alcohol is not his friend."

Abby nodded in understanding and said, "You better get going Ducky. Don't want to keep Gibbs waiting."

Ducky nodded quietly in agreement and turning on his heal walked briskly down the hall.

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

Autopsy:

Gibbs looked up when the doors opened and saw Palmer walk in with his nose buried in a file. He seemed to sense that something wasn't quite right with room and stopped mid step and scanned the room. He saw Gibbs sitting there with his arms protectively wrapped around Tony.

His eyes got large and he instantly dropped down to the floor in front of them and whispered, "Agent Gibbs. Is Tony all right? Is there something I can do to help?"

Gibbs shook his head and mouthed, "Wheel chair." He didn't want to take the risk of upsetting Tony any more than he already was. He had felt Tony tense up when the doors had opened and he was just beginning to relax again now that he knew who it was.

Palmer nodded silently in understanding and quickly got up to find what he needed. He was just heading towards the doors when they opened again revealing a slightly agitated Ducky.

Ducky had been ready to go in and give a well deserved lecture, but what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. There was Gibbs sitting on the floor gently rocking Tony back and forth. Ducky caught Gibbs' eye as he approached the two men. The message his friend conveyed to him that their young friend was not in a good way.

He approached the two men more cautiously and then squatting down asked softly, "How is he Jethro?"

Gibbs just shrugged saying, "About as good as he can be Duck. I think everything is finally starting to catch up with him and he's to damn confused to know what to do."

A soft snort came from the man in question and a soft, "I'm right here you know." Was heard from where he had his head buried into Gibbs' shoulder. Gibbs smacked him gently on the arm saying, "Go back to sleep."

Tony sleepily shook his head and mumbled something about an impending interrogation. Gibbs and Ducky just shook their heads smiling slightly. A joking Tony was a coping Tony. And that is what they wanted. They wanted to see him coping instead of hiding and pretending that every thing was all right.

They didn't have to wait long before Palmer came back with the requested wheel chair. Tony took one look at it and cried out indignantly, "I don't need that thing! I can walk."

Ducky shook his head exasperatedly and said firmly, "Anthony you are in absolutely no condition to walk back to the lab. Now please no more arguing and get in the chair."

Tony looked groggily between Gibbs and Ducky and seeing their almost identical looks of determination gave up the fight and allowed them to help him into the chair, although he hated it and felt stupid for having to use it. But he knew he wasn't in any shape or form to argue with them about it.

It didn't take them very long to make it back to the lab were they silently helped Tony get back onto the bed and situated before Ducky stepped up with his bag which seemed to have magically appeared out of thin air. Tony gave him a wary look saying, "Please Ducky no more poking and prodding, I'm not sure I can take any more."

Ducky sighed and said, "I must insist Anthony that you allow me to look you over. The alcohol that you ingested is not meant to be mixed with the meds you are on. I really need to assess you now and several more times to track any more adverse reactions."

Tony lifted his head slightly and looked between Gibbs and Ducky before sighing and saying, "It was only half a tumbler I swear."

Gibbs looked to Ducky and asked, "Can it wait Duck? It looks like he just needs to sleep."

Ducky sighed and looked thoughtful for a minute then said, "Alright I will wait until Anthony has slept awhile. But once you awake from your nap I am insisting on a full assessment. No excuses, understand?"

Tony nodded gratefully and sleepily said, "You're the best Ducky."

Ducky smiled and gently patted Tony on the shoulder and as he left he said, "Sleep well my friend."

Both men watched as Ducky left the room. Tony saw Gibbs getting more comfortable in the chair that he had pulled up next to the futon and as he pulled out a file and started to go over it. There was a few minutes of silence between the men before Tony finally said, "You know boss I'll be okay by myself, you don't have to stay."

"I know DiNozzo."

He knew that the short reply was all he was going to get on the subject so he let it go for now. He closed his heavy eyes and sighed at the relief that was almost instantaneous with that action. His eyes suddenly popped open when he felt a hand begin to gently comb through his hair. He couldn't believe the almost instant comfort that it gave him. He sighed and mumbled sleepily as his eyes drifted closed again, "Thanks Boss."

Gibbs waited a few seconds before saying, "Any time son. Any time."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer—Do not own

A/N: Hey everyone heres the next chapter I hope you all like it. Enjoy :))

* * *

Chapter 7

Movie Night

Tony ended up sleeping for several hours. When he awoke it was with a groan as he realized that all of his muscles had stiffened up on him. His shoulder and ribs hurt the worst. He blinked slowly, allowing the darkened room to come into focus. Looking around his eyes finally settled on the shadowy figure in the door. He could smell the coffee and cologne coming off his boss. He smiled when his boss silently came forward and held out a bottle of water and a couple of Tylenol.

He stiffly sat up saying, "You're the best Boss."

Gibbs just grunted and said, "Don't thank me yet Ducky said he'd be down in a minute to check you out."

Tony scrunched up his nose to show his displeasure and was about to say something to Gibbs about it when Ducky came bustling through the door saying, "Ah, ah Anthony none of that. This is none negotiable per our agreement earlier."

Tony just sighed and rolling his eyes said, "Alright Ducky I'm all yours. Poke at will."

"Now, now Anthony no need to be so mellow dramatic about it." Replied the ME with a put upon sigh.

Tony just shrugged and said, "Well Duck you know how I feel about it."

The doctor shook his head saying, "Yes, yes. You and Jethro are cut from the same cloth on this issue. Always so resistive when it comes to your own health."

Tony smiled a small sad smile and said, "Yah it used to drive Shay crazy too. She would get so mad at me and tell me I had a double standard, because when she was sick I would go all out to pamper her, but if I was sick or hurt I didn't want her bothering and fussing over me."

The men were all quiet for a little bit after that. Ducky performed his assessment silently, while Tony complied seemingly lost in his memories. Gibbs just stood back and watched Tony. Reading the emotions that crossed his face. Ready to jump in if needed.

Soon Ducky was standing back and pronouncing happily, "All seems to be well!" He faced Tony and wagging his finger said, "You young man can count your self lucky for coming out of that little stunt unscathed."

"I know it was stupid." Replied Tony heavily. "I just . . . I don't know I just wanted . . . Aww hell! I'm not sure what I wanted."

Ducky gently patted Tony on the shoulder saying, "I know lad. I know. And as I said before, normally I wouldn't begrudge a man in your position a coping mechanism. But you have a varying amount of drugs in your system. And I know I don't need to explain to you just exactly what that means for you now do I."

Tony sighed again saying, "I know Ducky. I honestly wasn't thinking."

Ducky 'tskd' under his breath then said, "Well I for one suggest that you start thinking. You are far too valuable to too many people to be pulling such stunts. Now if you are feeling up to it we have planned a little team get together up in MTAC."

Both older men felt relief when Tony smiled in agreement. Gibbs knew that it would take time but Tony was going to come through this ok. Because he had his family around watching his six and to make sure he was ok.

NCIS—NCIS—NCIS—NCIS

Later That Evening in MTAC:

McGee, Jimmy and Ziva stood back watching Abby run around the room trying to make every thing as perfect as possible. She had, had the boys setup a table along the empty wall and had organized all of the drinks and food there. Now she was standing in front of large screen going through the selection of movies that they had brought from Tony's apartment trying to decide which one they were going to watch first.

She finally gave up and turning to them with a hint of despair cried, "It's no use! All the movies we brought have some something in them that would remind Tony of everything and that is _so_ not what we need. We need to distract him not throw it in his face."

They all quietly agreed with her. They all jumped when she suddenly yelled, "Well! What are we going to do?"

All three of them looked back and forth at each other and after a minute of that Abby threw her hands up in the air exclaiming, "You are all hopeless!"

McGee sighed again and suggested, "Why don't we let Tony pick? This is after all, all for him."

Palmer and Ziva nodded in agreement and after a second Abby agreed as well. She knew that she was being a bit overbearing, but she really, really wanted to make this a good evening for Tony. She had seen a sadness in her friends eyes the last couple of days that shouldn't have been there. All she wanted was to lessen that sadness for a little while. She wasn't naïve enough to think that she could make it go away completely, but she hoped that she could help lessen the burden of it a little.

They all turned to face the door as it opened and Tony, with his crutches slowly worked his way into the room, followed by Gibbs and Ducky. Tony smiled as he saw the rest of the team waiting for him and his smile grew even larger when he saw the assortment of his favorite foods and movies set out for him. He didn't realize just how hungry he was until he caught a whiff of his favorite type of pizza from his favorite pizza shop. Instantly his mouth began to water and his stomach began to rumble.

He stopped in front of Abby and gently kissed her on the cheek saying, "Thanks Abs' this is amazing."

Abby smiled and said, "Well it wasn't just me. It was Ducky's idea and we all just kinda did his bidding for him."

Tony averted his eyes for a minute trying to clear them of the sudden moisture that was building up behind them. He was glad that no one tried to say anything or do anything just then. He had a tenuous hold on his emotions and he wasn't sure that he could keep that hold if they all went soft on him.

Abby being the person that she was saw this and grabbed his hand and gently led him over to the movie collection saying, "Come on we left the choice of movie to you. Now Ziva and I weren't sure what exactly what you would want so we pretty much just grabbed everything."

Tony smiled and nodded silently. He carefully began to pick through the movies but stopped suddenly when he picked up a case that was clear and plain. He looked at it for a minute trying to remember just what exactly was in this case. He carefully opened it and saw that it was a homemade movie. It was dated about a month before his family was killed. His wife had made it a habit of making a recording once a week when he went on long-term missions. She would give him the rundown of their lives that week and then would get the girls to also say stuff for him. He distinctly remembered having thrown all of the ones he had found away after they had died. He had never seen this one.

The memories had been too hard to handle and he had—in a drunken rage—gone through his whole house and thrown everything that had reminded him of them away. Later when he had wanted to hear her voice again he had regretted throwing the home videos away. He regretted a lot of things from that time. He swallowed convulsively for a minute while his brain was doing mad dashes. He was tempted to just put the video back like nothing had ever happened. But on the other hand he really wanted to see her and hear her voice again, and he wanted his team to see her and understand what she was like. Because he knew that he just couldn't do her justice.

A sudden wave of emotions washed over him and he had to really struggle to keep himself together. He took a couple of shaky deep breaths and then looked up to see that every one was watching him closely. They were all on edge waiting to jump into action if needed. He looked at them all and then silently placed the movie in Abby's hands and said, "I want to watch this."

Abby looked hesitantly and was about to open her mouth, but Tony cut her off saying, "I'm sure Abs'. If I can't handle it I'll let you know."

Abby looked hesitantly to Gibbs who nodded silently from his position behind Tony. Tony was the first to break the heavy silence by taking a seat in the front row and saying, "Hey Jimmy, do you mind bringing me a piece of Pizza?"

Palmer instantly jumped into action saying, "Sure Tony!"

Tony thanked his lucky stars that he and Palmer had become friends. He was the kind of guy that he could count on to act halfway normal when every one else didn't know what to do. After a second the others followed his lead and soon they were all seated in their chosen spots with their food and drinks, and were waiting anxiously for the movie to begin.

Tony forced himself to eat his pizza and to keep it down. His roiling emotions were making it hard for him to stomach much of anything at the moment but he used his 'mile wide' stubborn streak and forced it to stay down.

He was seriously beginning to question his decision when the room went dark and the screen suddenly jumped to life. He felt his throat close off when he saw the date flash on the screen. He sat enraptured as the screen suddenly showed his wife. He inhaled sharply as she smiled, the same smile he dreamt about every night.

The movie started out as short movie clips from throughout their life together. It started with when they first started dating and then slowly moved on through their short engagement and then onto their wedding. They all watched a very young Tony and the woman who had captured his heart moved through life. They watched as they moved into their first house and as they worked together to make repairs to it. They all watched as scenes from holidays and birthdays flew by. And then came a particularly touching scene where Shay and Tony stood together with his arms wrapped around her holding out an ultra sound picture.

The movie progressed with scenes from throughout the pregnancy and then they all laughed a little as they watched a particularly frantic Tony rush around trying to get his very pregnant wife and all their luggage into the car. A few minutes later there were scenes from the hospital that morphed into them bringing the babies home.

From then on it manly consisted of scenes of the girls occasionally capturing a haggard looking parent. There was another scene that had the group laughing when they saw an exhausted Tony sleeping in an easy chair with a baby in each arm. Tony looked very different from the one they knew. His hair was all over the place and he was unshaven. He had on a ratty old pair of sweat pants and his shirt was clearly stained with what appeared to be fresh patches of baby spit up. But the funniest thing was that Tony had his head thrown back to the side and was clearly drooling.

The scenes once again began to move through holidays and birthdays. Only now there were a handful of firsts included like first steps and first words. The whole team was completely enraptured with being able to get this glimpse into their friends past and into the kind of man he was.

The movie soon finished and the screen went blank only to pop back to life after a second and Shay appeared on the screen. He found himself smiling as she began, "_Well hello there handsome. It has been a long time since I made one of these videos for you and I'm sorry. Things have just been going at their usual break neck pace around here."_

He found himselfentranced by her voice and just by her in general. He soaked up every little detail he could of her and committed it to memory glad to see it matched his mental picture that he carried around with him. He quickly allowed himself to be drawn back to what she was saying taking her voice and recommitting it to memory. He noticed that she looked tired and her face looked a little chubbier. But what stood out the most were the dark circles under her eyes._ "So anyways it is officially Christmas Eve and the girls and I wanted to talk to you. So here we go; Islah! Maggie! Come say hi to daddy!"_

After a few seconds they could hear the sound of little feet running towards them. His smile got even bigger when he saw the two little heads come in front of the camera and then as they crawled up in their mothers lap. The little girls stole his breath away as he saw how much they had changed and how they looked even more like him. They still weren't very tall confirming Tony's original assumption that they would have been on the short side like their mother. But their appearance was totally Tony. They had his skin coloring, the same large green eyes with long dark lashes, the color of their hair was still a few shades lighter than his, but Tony knew that if they had lived it would had turned darker like his. Even the way they smiled was like him. He found himself leaning forward as they began to talk.

"_Hey Daddy." _they said in unison.

"_We miss you daddy."_ Said Islah as she leaned forward into the camera.

"_Yeah,"_ interrupted Maggie as she pushed her sister out of the way so that she could lean into the screen. "_Islah and I have been helping mommy just like you's told as to. Guess what daddy!? Islah and I . . . um . . . gots to leads the dance the other night and . . . um it was SO much fun! Miss Tammy our . . . um . . . dance teacher said that we . . . um . . . dids a . . .um . . . good job and gave us each a piece of candy! It was SO yummy. I—"_

She was cut off mid sentence as Islah pulled her back saying, "_Maggie it's my turn now!" _They all smiled when Maggie sat back slightly pouting as Islah leaned forward smiling and said, "_It WAS really fun daddy! But I missed you daddy. Mommy says that you're busy working on a . . .um . . . tops secret projects, so we's got to be brave girls so you's wont wor—"_

She was cut off by Shay when she leaned forward and said, "_Ok girls say good by to daddy now." _Both girls nodded sadly but did as they were told. They both leaned in together and in unison said, "_By daddy we love you! Hurry home daddy." _With that they both blew him a kiss and then jumped down and ran off. The camera caught the sound of their laughter as they began to play again.

Tony watched as Shay shook her head in amusement and smiling she sat back a little farther from the screen and played with her hair the way she did when she was nervous. He lost all sense of time and his surroundings when she started talking.

"_Hey babe."_ She started hesitantly, "_I know you're busy right now but I'm really really missing you." _She paused and began to play with her hair again. After a second she looked at the camera and with watery eyes and shakily laughed, "_I feel like I'm being such a baby." _She wiped at her eyes and smiled a small smile while saying, "_Um yah anyways what I want to tell you is that . . . well remember the last time you were home, about four months ago and we . . . ah . . . managed to ah . . . get some private time? Yeah well I guess that private time came at the right time of the month . . . or the right time of the month came during that private time. Either way it happened." _He watched as she took another deep shaky breath and then smiling said, "_So um yah I . . . I wasn't feeling to good and I went to my doctor and I . . . He . . . He told me that I'm . . . pregnant and . . . that it's definitely twins again. He said that he's pretty sure that they are going to be identical." _

Tony watched on in shock, his eyes slowly bulging further and further as what she was saying sunk in. He was mentally cursing himself as she smiled again and wiped away stray tears. He had to force himself to focus on what she was starting to say. He didn't want to miss a word of it.

"_It's not that I'm not happy, cause I am. I'm over the moon about it, but I'm starting to feel like I did with the girls and_ . . . _I'm scared to go through that again without you. Like I said I'm just being a big baby about it. I know that you would be here if you could. And I've told Rich to only tell you that I'm fine so don't blame him. _

Tony knew that if Rich hadn't already been dead he would have killed him. He was distracted from his thoughts as Shay stood up and stood back a little further allowing the camera to capture her already very swollen belly. She then sat back down saying, "_I know that you wont see this until your done with the mission and we wont get to talk in person until you're done with your debriefing so depending on how much longer this mission takes I might very well be delivering these two without you. But I'm trying really hard to not think about that just yet. We still have five months and who knows what can happen in that amount of time. So I want you to do me a favor. Are you listening? Cause I need you to listen really well. I need for you to be safe and to come home from this mission. I don't . . . I don't think I can be a single parent all on my own. Not with two sets of twins. So you focus on the job and get it done so you can come home to me. I love you Anthony DiNozzo. Please be safe,"_

With that the screen went blank and the lights in the room slowly turned back on. The whole group was silently watching Tony. Towards the end he had leaned forward and was holding his head in his hands. That tenuous hold on his emotions was long gone and he now had tears freely streaming down his face. He chanced a glance at the group of people surrounding him and let out a shaky breath. He swiped at the tears on his face and looking up at Gibbs, opened his mouth to apologize but was cut off by a firm slap to the back of his head and was then unexpectedly wrapped in a hug.

Tony wasn't sure just what he was supposed to do. He had never really been hugged by anyone but Abby since his wife died. He wasn't big on physical contact like that. But he found that this time he didn't mind it. This time he was glad to have some one there to lean on. When Gibbs pulled back from the hug he gently cupped his cheek and said, "Never ever apologize for something like that."

Tony nodded and took a deep breath. He felt shattered. He was totally and completely drained. The whole last month had been one roller-coaster ride after another and he was ready for the ride to stop. But there was a difference now. Now he had his team, his adopted family there to help him.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Hey every boody so sorry for the really long delay. about twothirds of the way through this chapter my muse decided it needed a vacation and left without me :( but now its back and here is the next chapter I'm not sure I like this chapter too much but it was necessary as a lead up to the next chapter so here you go enjoy.

Also thanks for all the reviews I loved them all. Also I would like to say a huge thankyou to my beta CALLEN37. So I hope you all like this chapter and as always reviews are welcome.

* * *

Chapter 8

Of Friends and Doctors

After about three days of staying at the Navy yard everyone was starting to feel a little antsy. But no one was climbing the walls like Tony was. By the end of the third day even Gibbs was threatening to cuff him to his desk and stuff a sock in his mouth.

They all understood how hard it was for him. Tony was not the kind of person to ever be content in one place for too long. But with his injuries and the protection detail he was forced to stay in the building and usually behind his desk.

His one reprieve was that he was able to lose himself in the case against Franklynns. He was developing an almost unhealthy focus on it. Working on it for hours on end without taking breaks for things like sleeping and food. Gibbs had even had to unplug his computer a few times to get him to stop.

Now he found himself once again left behind in the office as the team went to run down a lead. Tony was feeling frustrated about being left behind and with being left with a probie as a baby sitter. It wasn't that he didn't like Dorneget; he did and he thought that the kid showed promise. But it was the insinuation that he couldn't be trusted to be by himself that was really rubbing him wrong. He knew the team was just trying to help him, but it wasn't really helping him to have people in his face and watching his every move 24/7. In fact it was making him more irritable and crazy the longer it went on. So as soon as he was sure Gibbs was out of the building he started working his magical mix of black mail and charm on 'Dorny' and sooner than he thought he was free of his baby sitter and making his way to his favorite spot with the pretense of hitting the head.

Tony knew that he had time since it was almost a guarantee that it would take well over an hour and a half for them to get to the location of the lead with Gibbs driving and then they had to process all the stuff in-between and Tony figured that he had at least four hours of freedom and planned to enjoy his short amount of time alone. All he had to do was avoid being seen by Abby and all would be good.

So after actually hitting the head and grabbing a bunch of candy from the vending machines Tony made his way to his most favored and coveted hiding spot. The roof.

Over the years Tony had turned the rooftop of the NCIS building into a sort of sanctuary second only to his apartment. It was a perfect spot protected all around by major heating and cooling units and with a little finagling he had put up a cover of sorts to block the rain. He had also managed to get several pieces of furniture up there to create a small lounging area. He had two reclining lawn chairs, an old beat up couch, some end tables and a coffee table.

Being handy with electrical things, Tony had also managed to set up a small electrical station with several outlets so that he could have lights and work on his laptop from the roof.

He breathed out a sigh of relief as he sunk his tall frame down onto the sofa. The sofa was the best sofa he had ever had. It even rivaled Gibbs's sofa. He situated himself so that his broken leg was propped up on the opposite arm rest and the rest of him was stretched out. He reluctantly set an alarm on his phone to go off in two and a half hours. Giving him more than enough time to get back to his desk before Gibbs and the rest of the team got back, so that the probie wouldn't get into trouble.

Sighing heavily again Tony quickly fell into a deep relaxing sleep.

NCIS~NCIS

4 Hours, 30 Minutes later:

Tony rushed back as fast as he could on his crutches. He had slept through his alarm, waking up to the sound of Gibbs's ring tone. He had instantly panicked and in his confusion from still being half asleep he had dropped his phone in just such a way that it caused it to completely fall apart. Cursing, he haphazardly made his way down from the roof, tripping and stumbling over his crutches.

Breathlessly he slid to a stop in the middle of the bullpen. Finally taking in his surroundings he saw for the first time the group of people who had gathered around him. They all had varying degrees of anger and concern displayed across their faces. Ducky and Brad had that look that only doctors got when they were dealing with a trying patient. Abby looked as though she was going to burst out crying with relief when she saw him, while Ziva on the other hand looked as though she wanted to strangle him. Tim looked as though he was very weary, while Dornaget looked like all he wanted to do was run and hide. Moreover Gibbs was giving Tony a look of understanding mixed with just a dash of worry and just a hint of disappointment. Tony involuntarily flinched at that look and quickly averted his gaze.

Gibbs didn't blame Tony for escaping. Hell he would have done the same thing. In fact it surprised him that Tony had put up with them for as long as he had. Gibbs knew that it was time to let Tony have some breathing room before he exploded.

Gibbs watched as the whole group descended on the poor kid all at once. He watched as Tony; who was fully into fight or flight mode began to back away from them all as if they were mad men intending to hurt him. He would have fallen down if it hadn't been for the desk that had conveniently been located behind him. Several hands reached out to stop his fall and Gibbs saw what he was hoping to not ever see in his Senior Field agents face. Tony had finally reached his limit.

NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

Tony sat down hard on the corner of the desk and reached out to steady himself along with several other pairs of hands. At that point Tony felt his tolerance level for people being in his face reach the dreaded zero. He roughly pushed their hands away and exclaimed, "Will you all just leave me alone for God's sake!"

With that he turned and limped off without his crutches. Gibbs scowled at them all and after giving Tony a few minutes head start silently followed him making sure to grab the abandoned pair of crutches as he went. He left the group of people where they stood, allowing them to think about their behavior.

NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

Tony had only one thought on his mind; and that was to get as far away as he could. He hated that he was so dysfunctional but he hadn't woken up well and his body was making well known all of the aches and pains that it had. And his brain felt very much like someone had replaced it with a big bag of cotton plus his eyes were bothering him. All this served to make him groggy and short tempered.

He hadn't realized it but he had headed back to the roof and that is where he now found himself. He smiled slightly as he lowered himself back down onto the couch. He didn't stretch out this time. He just sat there and rested his head on the back of it. He looked up at the clear sky and watched the clouds roll by. He realized that he hadn't had the time recently to really stop and notice things like the sky and the different shapes of the clouds.

Thinking about the clouds made him think about when he would lay out in the yard with Shay and the girls and how they would spend hours just watching the clouds roll by and trying to find as many shapes as they could and then they would end up falling asleep on their blanket. Tony blinked suddenly when he felt wetness on his cheeks. He realized that he had tears running down his face. He quickly wiped them away but more kept falling. He couldn't believe he was crying. He never cried unless he was drunk.

He stiffened when the cushion dipped next to him as Gibbs sat down. Tony remained still and refused to acknowledge Gibbs' grunted greeting. They both sat there for a few minutes before Gibbs said, "You know DiNozzo I don't think I've done this much talking since _I _was married."

Tony shrugged saying, "So don't talk."

Nodding Gibbs said, "I could but I don't think that would help you. You need to talk Tony. You've been holding all of this in for years and now it's bursting at the seams to get out. You need to let it out, let it go so that it's not burdening you anymore."

Tony looked at him from the corner of his eye skeptically saying, "Yah think so boss?"

Gibbs just shrugged saying, "Worked for me DiNozzo. Yah see it took me a long time to do it, but after my last marriage fell apart I took a good look at myself and I figured out that I was trying to replace something that couldn't be replaced. Once I realized that, I got a sense of peace about it. It doesn't bother me to be alone, not any more at least. Yah see before I could come to terms with that fact. I had to let my grief run its course so I did. I realized that me being the crotchety old bastard that I am, was just my way of grieving. You Tony you haven't even begun to let yourself grieve. You've just been hiding from it and from the world. Greif serves a purpose Tony you just gotta let it do its job. It's not a sign of weakness to grieve and it's not a sign of weakness to cry over what you've lost. You've lost a lot Tony and you've got the right to be angry and anything else you need to be or do in order to work through it. Just don't do it alone ok? I know you like to go off by yourself and I'll respect that, just don't block me out completely."

Once he was done Gibbs looked up to see that Tony was staring at him with a shocked expression on his face. After a second of silence Tony shook his head saying, "Damn Gibbs that's most I've ever heard you say in one go. And that was some pretty deep shit."

Gibbs chuckled saying, "Just cause I don't say much doesn't mean that I'm not thinking and feeling it. I just usually tend to keep these things to myself."

Tony sighed and laid his head back against the back of the couch saying, "I know they all mean well and I didn't mean to scare them all but I really don't think I can handle them right now Gibbs."

"Not entirely sure I blame yah on that one." Replied Gibbs with a nod; "They can put even the most laid back person on edge with all of their hovering."

Tony snorted and smiled then with a heavy sigh levered himself up off the couch. He looked around quickly realizing that he didn't have his crutches, realizing that he had left them down in the bullpen. He jumped slightly when Gibbs came up behind him saying, "I left them by the door."

"Thanks Boss!" laughed Tony with a smile and a sloppy salute. Not waiting for Gibbs to get any ideas about head slapping him. He quickly made his way over to the doors and grabbing his crutches he carefully made his way down the long flights of stairs back to the bull pen. He briefly thought of it as his impending doom. He wasn't normally so gloomy but he had a sinking feeling that this day was going to be a very, very long one.

NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

The whole group stood there in the center of the bullpen looking appropriately ashamed of them-selves. Finally Ducky said, "Well I suppose we did bring it on ourselves. Rushing the lad like that."

The whole group nodded in silent agreement. They knew their behavior had not been the nicest but they also felt that with everything that had been going on lately that their worry had a basis.

They had all been standing there in the bullpen for well over thirty minutes when Tony and Gibbs casually made their way into the area. Tony hesitated when he came upon the group. He looked hesitantly at Gibbs before he took a deep breath and then pulling himself up to his full height

He really didn't want to deal with this right now. But he knew that he had to at least calm their fears a little before he could even think about getting any more time to himself. He cautiously entered into the bullpen trailing slightly behind Gibbs and just like he had feared as soon as they saw them the group surged forward. To his utter relief Gibbs held his hands up effectively stopping the group and said, "Ducky and Dr. Pitt are going to come upstairs and do what ever they need to do. After that and only after that may you talk to DiNozzo but I want you all to keep in mind how you would feel if you had people watching you24/7."

With that he walked through the group with Tony following behind him and Brad and Ducky bringing up the rear. The team watched as a conference door closed behind the group effectively cutting them all off from view. Abby looked to the rest of the group and shrugging slightly said, "Well I'm hungry any one want lunch?"

NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

Tony sighed with relief as the doctors finally stepped back from examining him. Brad looked from Ducky to Gibbs and then back at Tony and said, "Well I am happy to say that Tony is very much on the mend. His lungs are sounding better, which means that the antibiotics are doing their job. I'm still worried about his fatigue and the weight loss—"

Dr. Pitt stopped short when he saw the looks that the two older men were giving his patient. He looked to Tony and saw that he was clearly avoiding looking at any of them. Dr. Pitt cleared his throat and continued, "But all that aside he is doing well and I think that we can maybe cut back on all of his meds."

Dr. Pitt shot Tony an apologetic look and then hastily left the room sighing as he did so, relieved to be out of the tense atmosphere. He smiled shakily at Dr. Cranston as she slowly made her way up the stairs to the mezzanine. She smiled back at him asking, "So how is our favorite patient and his handlers faring?"

Dr. Pitt shook his head saying, "As well as can be expected but I fear Tony will not be doing so well in a minute."

"Reveal something you shouldn't have Brad?"

Dr. Pitt laughed shakily and drawing a shaky hand through his hair said, "Well I may have just gotten him into trouble with his boss by revealing that he had lost even more weight and that his fatigue was still troubling." Dr. Pitt laughed again saying, "I'm certain that he is right now getting a lecture. Though knowing how Tony gets when he is sick or injured I'm really not too surprised."

Dr. Cranston nodded and then after a few seconds of silence said, "He is a very complex man. I have been reading over my notes from when I first worked with the team and I found a little note on him that said I sensed a lot of his true self was hidden away. Guess I wasn't too far off."

Dr. Pitt was just about to respond when the door to the conference room behind them slammed open and Tony came limping out at a furious pace. He stopped at the top of the stairs and said, "You do what you think is necessary Gibbs, but you'll have to be able to find me in order to fulfill your threat."

With that he made his way down the stars.

The two doctors turned to look at the two men standing behind them. Ducky stood there shaking his head and then began to lay into Gibbs. "Damn you Jethro! I told you that threatening the man would not get you anywhere. I told you, you needed to calm down! But you insisted on doing it your own way. And now he has fled the scene again, and only God knows where or when we will find him this time. Seriously Jethro you would think that for a man of your age and experience in dealing with him you would know better than to do any of what you just did. Honestly!"

With that Ducky gave a curt nod towards the two doctors and then hastily made his way down the stairs. The trio watched as the man disappeared in to the stairwell slamming the door a little harder than was necessary. Gibbs let out a huge sigh effectively drawing all the attention onto him-self. He glared at the doctors and then growled out, "Don't even ask!"

Both doctors held up their hands in surrender. Gibbs glared at them for a second longer before he too took off down the stairs calling out to McGee as he passed the bullpen that he was going for coffee. Dr. Cranston looked to Dr. Pitt and said, "Well things sure are getting interesting."

Dr. Pitt nodded in agreement, his face showing his shock. Dr. Cranston laughed and patted her colleague on the back saying, "Don't worry Brad you get used to it eventually."

The two doctors stayed at their spot over looking the lower level and discussed in great detail the group of people to which they had become acquainted. They both agreed that, this group of people were some of the most interesting individuals that they had ever encountered.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I dont own.

A/N: Big thanks to my Beta CALLEN37 you are amazing! And also I would like to say thanks to all of you who reviewed and faved my last chapter, it really means a lot that you like my story enough to tell me so :))

Also I need a favor. This story does not show up in my main feed when I get on the sight and I was wondering if it is showing up for you guys? If you could let me know I would really appreciate it. Again thank you all so much for your continued support. :)

* * *

Chapter 9

Of friends and Doctor's

part 2

Tony slammed his fist into the punching bag as hard as he could. He was so furious that he could hardly think straight. He couldn't believe Gibbs! One minute he's all supportive and understanding. The next he's backed him into a corner chewing him out, calling him obsessed, telling him that he had better cool it or he would personally escort him to the furthest most remote safe house the agency had to offer.

The hypocrite! Of course the guy could smell an obsession a mile away he'd had enough of them. That was unless he was the one obsessing and then it was either help or get out of the way.

Tony again hit the bag with as much force as he could muster. He really, really, REALLY wanted to do more than just punch the damn bag. He wanted to storm out there and take down Franklynns on his own. He wanted to be a one-man team, making his own rules.

But he knew he couldn't put his team through that. Not to mention he had made a promise to Gibbs not to long ago to let him help. Just even thinking about the man made his blood pressure go up. Tony started wailing into the punching bag more intensely than before. He lost track of how long he was at it until a voice from behind him spoke quietly, "You're going to regret that latter on of you're not careful."

Tony continued to punch the bag without taking notice of his visitor. The person behind him sighed saying, "Seriously Tony you need to calm down and rest for a minute you're only going to be in more trouble if you hurt your self."

Tony suddenly flung himself around saying . . .

~~~~NCIS~~~~

Gibbs was beginning to get worried. He had looked in all the usual places for tony and had then gone to all the unusual places that he could think of to look for him. So far every single place had turned up a dead end.

Not only was he becoming worried he was also very frustrated. He was frustrated with the whole situation but mostly he was frustrated with himself. He didn't know why he had threatened tony that way. When he had headed Dr. Pitt saying all that stuff he couldn't help but flash back to himself when he had been hunting Kelly and Shannon's murderer.

Looking back he wished that he'd, had some one to lock him away some where safe until he had gotten his head on straight. He looked at tony and he saw all the same symptoms that he him self had, had. The unpredictable mood swings, the one-track focus, the loss of appetite, the insomnia. He could see tony stepping ever closer to that line and Gibbs was going to be damned if he let his boy cross it like he had. He didn't care if he had to hog tie him and forcibly carry him to a safe house and he would gladly deal with the kids wrath if it meant that his boy was safe an free from the burden of taking the law into ones own hands. He knew that if anyone could do it and cover it up completely then Tony would be the one, even more so than he himself to do it and get away with it.

Gibbs sighed in frustration and leaned back against the wall of the elevator. He knew he needed to take a step back and get his head on straight Tony was depending on him to be level headed and in control. Taking a deep breath he decided that going for coffee was a good idea and that maybe by the time he got back Tony would be ready for an unofficial apology.

~~~~NCIS~~~~

Tony suddenly flung himself around saying, "You know Doc I'm really not in the mood to be messed with right now."

Dr. Cranston just gave Tony a look telling him that she wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon."

Tony just turned his back on her effectively giving her the cold shoulder. Much to his displeasure Dr. Cranston just ignored his signal and came around to the other side saying, "You know you could just tell me why you're so upset. "

Tony didn't even give her the pleasure if acknowledging her. Instead he pounded a little harder into the bag. He was inwardly hopeful when he saw her walk away towards the door, but groaned when she came back sans her purse and shoes. He became even more upset when she stepped behind the bag to hold it for him effectively cutting off his chosen form of venting. She knew that if she were behind the bag he would pull his punches forcing him to ease up. But also it would prevent him from ignoring her completely.

Frustrated Tony instantly backed away from the bag. Dr. Cranston shrugged her shoulders asking, "Why are you stopping?"

Tony took a deep breath as growled out, "You know damn well why I'm stopping!"

Rachel just shrugged again saying, "Come on I thought you wanted to hit something. Well here's your chance hit it. Imagine its every nasty feeling that's been bugging you."

Tony stepped back even further saying, "No way Doc. There's absolutely no way I am gonna even consider doing that. "

"Come on Tony! I can take it. I promise I'm a lot stronger than I look."

Tony backed up even further shaking his head and muttering, "Can't get a damn person to listen to me."

Dr. Cranston immediately saw an opening. She knew it was kinda low but hey she could play dirty if she had to. She came out from behind the bag saying, "Well Tony they're worried about you. They . . ."

Tony stopped her by putting his hands up. After making sure she was paying attention Tony took a deep breath saying, "I don't care! I don't want them to be worrying about me. I just want to be left alone. I'm not sure how you even found me but I would greatly appreciate it if you would leave now and not come back."

"Tony I'm not gonna leave you alone and you know that. I don't know why you even bother to ask me too. I am just as worried about you as the rest of you're team. You're not eating, you're obviously not sleeping, and you look even more defeated and depressed than you did a few days ago. If you don't do something soon you're going to collapse."

Tony sighed and laying back on a pile of mats exclaimed, "I just want to be able to go to the bathroom by myself! Maybe even go and get food from the break room BY MY SELF! I can't take much more of this big brother business."

"Tony…" sighed Dr. Cranston; "I know this is hard for you. But this is just as hard for them, only in a different way. To you they are overbearing and suffocating while you are trying to deal with your repressed grief and the threat on your life and possibly the meeting with an old foe. While for them they have to deal with the very real threat against you, the fact that they almost lost you once already, the fact that the person they thought they all knew isn't who they thought he was, and they are faced with the fact that you are hurting in more ways than one and there is almost nothing that they can do for you to help ease your suffering. You need to cut them a little slack; they are all really quite fond of you, and whether or not they want to admit it, they would all be devastated if they lost you."

Tony sighed again and looking at the doctor silently cursed her for being so…so damn _sensible_. He took out his phone and looking at the time began to think of a way to say sorry for his bad attitude. He looked at Dr. Cranston and with a smile asked, "You wouldn't feel like giving me a hand would you?"

Dr. Cranston looked at him sideways and wondered just how much trouble this was going to get her into.

~~~~NCIS~~~~

An hour later Tony emerged from the elevator. He looked as though he were happier than he was earlier. He still looked like death warmed over but now his step was lighter and his shoulders were not quite as hunched. He came onto the floor and before coming in all the way stopped and looked to see if any one was there. He noted that it was mostly empty of people except for a few of the team leaders. He wasn't really surprised it was a Saturday afternoon after all. He walked into the middle of their bullpen and carefully placed the hot drinks and food, that Dr. Cranston had so graciously gone and gotten for him, on his team mates desks and then he picked up his phone and called Palmer telling him to come and to bring Ducky and Abby with him.

He then sent out a mass text to his teammates that there was food. Satisfied with all of his efforts he sat back behind his desk and resumed his work from earlier. He didn't have to wait long before the first wave hit. He smiled a little as he listened to Abby lecturing McGee and Palmer on the finer points of death mettle music. Soon after that came Ducky and Brad conversing on the latest medical journals. A few minutes later Ziva and Dornaget came strolling out of the stair well at about the same time that Gibbs came down the stairs from MTAC.

Once they had all gathered in the main area Tony stood up from behind his desk saying, "I know I have been more of a pain in the rear than normal and I'm sorry for that. Despite how I might act I really do appreciate all that you have been doing for me. So . . . yah . . . all this food and more to come is my way of saying thank you and sorry."

Tony was about to sit down again when he was suddenly wrapped by Abby in an embrace so tight he almost couldn't breath. He forced himself to relax into her embrace; he loved Abby and knew that he had caused her to really worry over him. He patted her on the arm saying, "Sorry for being such a jerk Abbs."

"You better be!" she cried while slugging him on the arm and then hugged him again saying, "I'm sure that we would probably all be the same way if we were in your situation."

Planting a chaste kiss on her forehead he and Abby separated. The group had just dug into some of the food when Dr. Cranston came in carrying several boxes of Pizza. McGee and Palmer quickly took them from her and following her instructions left some for their group and then quickly passed out the remaining boxes to the rest of the offices.

Tony looked around smiling at his friends and family. He watched with amusement at the antics of Abby and McGee as they sat at his computer playing some new game. He allowed his eyes to roam over to the four doctors in the group all talking seriously and no doubt sharing stories collected from their many years in the profession. He watched in amusement as Ziva showed a rather nervous looking Dornaget her extensive collection of knives. He finally looked towards his boss who he found was also watching, keeping a keen eye out his group.

Tony tipped his head slightly as a way to say 'sorry'. Gibbs in turn gave him just a little half grin. It was barely even a twitch of his lips but Tony saw it and took it for what it was, an acceptance of his apology and an apology in its self.

Tony knew that Gibbs was just worried and that the older man really didn't handle being worried all that gracefully.

Tony was just about to settle back and enjoy the rest of his food; which had finally started to sound palatable again, when the elevator sounded its arrival again. He didn't know why but his stomach instantly dropped about a foot and suddenly the food that he had been eating wasn't so appealing any more. The group was pulled out of their leisurely lunch when a group of about six people; four men and two women stopped in front of them.

Tony sighed when he saw who they were. He really didn't think things could get any more complicated. He knew that at least one person recognized him right off and he was really wishing that the director's had seen fit to give him advanced warning. Gritting his teeth he stood up a little straighter, and coming from behind his desk he plastered a large smile on his face and walked towards the group of new comers, drawing the attention of the rest of the group on to him-self. Stopping a few feet in front of the new group he extended his hand saying, "Well it has been a long time . . ."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer—I don't own

AN: Hey everyone just wanted to say thanks for all the awesome reviews and sorry for the long wait RL has been very overwhelming these last couple of weeks. Also wanted to say thanks to my beta CALLEN37, I really appreciate all your help. So without further ado here is the next chapter and I hope you all like it; just hit that review button and let me know. :)

* * *

Of Doctors

And

Friends

Part 3

The leader of the group bypassed Tony's offered hand and engulfed him in a bear hug lifting Tony off the floor. The man was almost larger than life and though Tony wasn't completely shocked that it happened he wasn't completely prepared for it mentally. The tightness of his hug caused him some discomfort due to his still tender ribs making him gasp slightly and stiffen. The mountain of a man instantly backed off and scowling said, "What have yah done to yourself now?"

Tony grimaced slightly and indignantly replied, "Nothing you need to worry about and it WASN'T my fault."

Tony heard a collective round of sighs and tsking coming from behind him. He could well imagine his team and friends all rolling their eyes at him but he chose to ignore them.

The man just rolled his eyes saying, "Yah like I believe that."

To keep this conversation from progressing into a storytelling debacle he quickly said, "Ok Rock what are you doing here?"

Rock raised an eyebrow at his old friend saying, "I'm guessing the old fart didn't fully inform you."

Tony's expression became pinched as he sighed in frustration and glared at the upper mezzanine. He looked between his old team and his new team and decided that it was time to pull out all the big guns. No more half-truths and hidden talents. Sighing again Tony moved to the middle of the bullpen and motioning for all to gather around said, "Ok here's the deal apparently the directors have made some decisions without informing us. So to prevent any further surprises I'm going to make some introductions so we can all be on the same page. The mangy crew that just got here is part of my old team. The big guy is Dr. Brock 'the rock' Hanning; he's from the deep south as you can tell by his accent and serves as the main medic on the team. The identical twin twigs in the back are Casey and Carrie Holden; they are the arms and ammunitions experts. And last but not least the lovely lady in the back is Jenny; she is the lab geek."

Taking a deep breath Tony looked around and grimaced slightly when he saw the very 'death like' stares that the two separate groups were giving each other. Not letting this deter him he forged on saying, "Ok old team meat new team, first and fore most is team leader," He did not miss the raised eyebrows from his old team at that announcement, "Special agent Gibbs, marine extraordinaire and general all around bad ass. Next is special agent McGee, our local computer genius. Then there is the lovely super deadly special agent David, ex Mossad assassin. Then there is Dr. Mallard, forensic pathologist and coroner supreme and his ever handy and trustworthy right hand man Mr. Jimmy Palmer, doctor in training. And again last but not least very super special talented Abigail Scutio, one of the foremost leading experts in forensic science. Seriously people do not piss her off because she can kill you and leave no forensic evidence. Ok so now that, that's all done lets get to work on whatever it is we need to work on."

Tony waited but nothing happened. The two separate teams just stood there still staring—glaring—at each other. Tony sighed again he was hoping that things wouldn't be like this.

He was kinda starting to feel like a kid caught between two warring parents. 'Surprise, surprise,' he thought, 'this is not a knew feeling.'

He quickly shook that train of thought off, reminding himself firmly with a mental head slap that he wasn't going to go there. He was about to take drastic measures and crack a joke when Dr. Pitt stepped forward with hand extended towards Rock saying, "I'm Dr. Pitt; Tony's pulmonologist and friend. It's a pleasure to meet some one from Tony's past. Seeing as you are a doctor as well maybe you and I can get together and discuss what I'm sure is a mutual patient."

"Excellent idea Bradley!" Exclaimed Ducky as he quickly came forward extending his own hand to the new man. "I am quiet sure there is many a tale to be told that our young friend has yet to share. Plus it would be excellent to be able to fill in some gaps in his medical history."

They all three looked to Tony who had an expression of apprehension that was almost fearful, frozen on his face. He was about to say something when the directors suddenly came down from the office. Every one turned to look at them when Director Vance called out, "Excellent! Everyone is here."

Tony stubbornly folded his arms over his chest saying, "Well it would be kinda nice to know exactly why we have all been gathered here."

Both directors had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed. Vance recovered quickly saying, "We have a new information for your team. Franklynns has been found. The CIA has him under surveillance in Bermuda. They have been informed to watch but not detain him. That pleasure is going to be ours. You are going to confer with your teams and decide who is going to be bringing him in and who is going to run things from the office. We'll leave the final decisions up to you."

With that the two directors left. Tony turned around to face his two teams he knew that there was no chance in hell any one of him would let him leave the office. They would happily drug him and truss him up before allowing him out to what could potentially be a trap. Still he had to try. He looked to Gibbs and was about to talk when Gibbs said, "No."

"But boss."

"No DiNozzo!"

"It'll be fine!"

"What part of protective custody don't you get?"

"Come on Gibbs! I need to do this."

"I know Tony. But it's not happening."

Tony knew when he had been beaten. He sighed heavily and after a few minutes he finally said, "Fine. But I get to interrogate him!"

Gibbs nodded in silence then said, "Yah I think you've more than earned it."

Tony gave a small smile and then looking around at the rest of the group loudly said, "I'm thinking that Gibbs and Ziva along with the twigs should go to Bermuda. The rest of us will run back up from here."

Everyone stood; especially his newer team, slightly in shock. They were not used to hearing such an authoritative tone and issuing the orders. He looked at all of them and was mildly surprised by his actions. He jumped slightly when there was a sound head slap delivered to the back of his head, and Gibbs said as he walked by, "Ziva get your gear together we are leaving in an hour.

Tony jumped again when he turned to find the twigs suddenly standing a few good inches away from him with Jenny behind them. He smiled hesitantly; wary of what the trio of women would do to him. He couldn't blame them seeing as he had kinda left them hanging high and dry. He was about to say sorry when one of the twigs held up her hand and angrily signed the word, "**No!**"

Tony quickly held up his hands in placation, and then quickly signed, "**Sorry.**"

The double punch was not unexpected but the hug that quickly followed was. Tony stiffened at first but then relaxed as he held them. He quietly whispered into their hair, "I missed you guys."

Jenny sighed saying, "You have no idea how much they missed you. I couldn't get them to talk for over a week after you left."

"I really am sorry."

Jenny just rolled her eyes saying, "Geez DiNozzo _do not_ make me add to your list of injuries. It's fine. You really can't be held accountable for the things you do while suffering that level of grief."

He grimaced in discomfort and said, "I _really_ wish you wouldn't analyze it like that."

"I bet," replied Jenny with a snort, " I however refuse to coddle your absurd fear of all things medical and analytical."

Tony just rolled his eyes and thought, '_if you only knew_' he quickly went back to the two young women in his arms, which he noticed were not so young any more. He also noticed that they both had nice big rocks on their lefts hands. He quickly grabbed them and examined each one individually before demanding; only just managing to cover the dead seriousness in his tone, "When did this happen? Why wasn't I informed?" Both girls just rolled their eyes at him. He looked between them with deadly seriousness—not even bothering to try and cover it this time—saying, "I need to meet them and give my stamp of approval."

Again the girls only rolled their eyes and delivered more punches before signing hastily, "_**NO Way!**__"  
_

Tony grinned wickedly saying adamantly, "Yes Way! It's my right as big brother!"

Again Jenny interrupted saying, "It's fine Tony they've passed inspection."

Tony still looked questioningly at them before disappointedly saying, "Fine but I still want to meet them. Soon. I want to meet them soon."

Tony happened to look around the bullpen noticing for the first time that they had quiet an audience watching them. He smiled sheepishly again when he made eye contact with his boss. He then quickly signed and said allowed, "I know I still have a lot that I need to explain to all of you and . . . and I will . . . just . . . just after all of this is taken care of."

Every one but Abby nodded in understanding. Abby was still standing there looking slightly smug. She quickly rushed over to Tony saying in an almost sing song voice, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

"Knew what Abigail?" asked Ducky as he made his way back into the bull pen carrying a very large over full folder with him, followed by Brad and Rock who also carried similar files with them and their doctors bags. They had missed the exchange while they were gathering all of their supplies.

Abby smiled triumphantly saying, "That Tony knows sign! I thought I caught him smiling at a joke I had told Gibbs one time but I couldn't be sure at the time since he covered it well."

Ducky and Brad seemed mildly in awe of this development while Brock just went, "Pfft," and said, "Please! Signing is not even the coolest of his language abilities! I think Mr. brainiac knows something like fifteen different languages fluently!"

Tony embarrassedly looked down at his feet. The hits just kept coming. He wondered how much longer it would be before his team became tired of all these random new discoveries and just performed a regular interrogation on him. He looked up and saw that they were all looking at him expectantly. He knew right then and there that the time had come to enlighten them all to some of the finer points of his personality. He felt himself sway slightly; a reminder that he was still in fact still not one hundred percent. He had been so focused on everything that he had for the time been able to forget about his injuries.

"Sit." Came the gruff order as he was manhandled into his chair. As much as he was grateful for the relief he couldn't bring himself to raise his head. Gibbs used his chin to force him into looking in his eyes. Tony hesitantly looked at his mentor before looking off to the side. He could hardly stand to look Gibbs in the eye he felt so guilty about all of the lies and surprises.

"Anthony look at me."

It was an order and Tony could never disobey a direct order. Slowly and hesitantly he lifted his eyes; expecting to see some sort of anger or frustration, but instead he saw understanding. He swallowed hard. Gibbs just sighed and said, "No one here is mad at you. Yes it is a lot to take in and I think we are all big enough people to admit that you fooled us. Rest assured you will be explaining everything to us, but we will wait. We have to work now anyways. Just know that when I get back we will be talking."

Tony nodded in relief and relaxed in his chair. Things were going to be okay. He felt a different hand on his shoulder as the comforting voice said, "Come along Anthony I do believe that it would be a good idea for you to lay down for a time."

Tony looked at Ducky, contemplating whether or not he should comply or argue to stay up and help get things ready for their visitor. He was about to argue for staying up when once again Gibbs came around saying, "DiNozzo do as Ducky says. We really don't need you sicker than you already are."

Tony pouted but remained silent as he allowed himself to be helped up and led to the elevator. He leaned against the side as it descended into the basement to Abby's lab where his home away from home was waiting for him. He had just laid his head down on the pillow when he heard Rock ask, "You wouldn't be the same Dr. Pitt that treated that man for the pneumonic plague are you?"

Tony instantly shot off the bed and stumbled out into the lab area exclaiming, "Do Not answer that Brad!"

All four of the doctors and Palmer stared at Tony. After a few seconds Rocks eyes grew huge and he cried accusingly, "You're the guy! The federal agent that was infected with the plague! Jesus Tony!"

Tony huffed and slid his aching body into the nearest chair. Damn he wished his body would just cool it for a minute and let him get back to normal. He settled himself more comfortably in the chair and waited expectantly for the group of doctors in front of him to go back to their discussion. Ducky walked towards Tony saying, "Anthony you really should be lying down."

Tony stubbornly shook his head saying, "No way Ducky! I'm not going to go in there and sleep while you're all out here gossiping and sharing stories about me!"

Ducky looked sternly at him saying, "Anthony! Either you go back in there and lay down or I'm going to call Gibbs and have him come down here."

Tony narrowed his eyes at his old friend and said, "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh wouldn't I?"

"I am not a child Ducky! I can decided if I want to take a nap or not!"

"Normally I would agree with you, but _clearly_ the _stress_ of everything has gotten to you and your not making the most sound decisions right at this moment."

Tony glared at the older man not at all impressed with is blackmail attempt. He had to admit though that if any one could get him declared temporarily incompetent then Ducky could and would do it. Sighing heavily and still glaring Tony went back into the office and made quite a show of getting back in the bed and situating himself.

Ducky sighed and shook his head amusedly. He turned to his colleagues saying, "Excuse me for a few minutes."

With that he left them there and also went into the office with a chair and sat in it next to the futon. He made himself comfortable and just sat there. He smiled when a sleepy voice said, "Thanks Ducky."

His smile became larger when the words were quickly followed with the sound of light snoring.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hey every one! Ok so all I can say is that I am so, so, so, so sorry for the really long delay in getting this chapter out to you. I really wanted to say thank you for all the awesome reviews you all gave me, and that I really enjoyed reading them. Also wanted to say thanks to my beta.

So here it is. Don't be afraid to send me a review and tell me what you think. I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer—I don't own.

* * *

Chapter 11

Rethinking

McGee sat at his desk, watching as a combination of words and numbers flowed over his screen.

The sheer complexity of the code that he was running was to him, mind-boggling. He had admitted to himself several days ago, that he had been severely underestimating DiNozzo the whole time that he had known him. He had done something that he knew better than to do. He had underestimated him in everything, his professionalism, his education, and his personal life. Everything! McGee was finding it very hard still, to reconcile his Tony with the person who was slowly coming out into the light. He did smile a little at the thought of a nerdy Tony. In his mind's eye it was a most amusing image. This image surprisingly took the form of that picture that they had found of Tony when they had accidentally mixed up bags.

McGee suddenly realized that the real Tony had always been there, just hidden under the surface. He just hadn't taken the time or consideration to look any closer. Feeling even worse now than he had been, McGee thought back to the conversation that he and Tony had, had earlier as they were setting up the surveillance equipment.

~~Flash Back~~

_McGee looked up in surprise when the door to MTAC suddenly opened and closed, and a harried looking Tony leaned heavily against the closed door, looking extremely relieved to be there. Not wanting to sound rude, and momentarily forgetting the new information that he possessed about Tony, casually asked, "What are you doing up here Tony?"_

_Realizing by the flash of indignation that crossed his partner's face, that he may have just insulted him, McGee quickly covered for him-self by adding, "I thought you were meeting with your _doctors._"_

_With his intentional sarcasm on the words doctors McGee saw his friend relax a little and sag more against the door. Tony finally made his way down the ramp saying, "You mean my _guards. _I was, but then I escaped while they weren't looking, so I could come up here to see if I could help you set this up." Tony looked at McGee with an air of desperation in his eyes and with a hint of begging in his voice said, "I'm bored stiff McGoo! My keepers are insisting that I _'rest' _as much as I can."_

_At that McGee loudly snorted his amusement. The chances of Tony resting when something this big was happening under normal circumstances was zilch, and this was made doubly so since these were extraordinary._

_He laughed outright when Tony went on with, "I know! I'm ready to lock them all in a closet somewhere and erase the key code until this whole thing is over!"_

_McGee just shook his head. This was a side of his partner that he wasn't used to seeing and even though he wished the circumstances were different he found himself really liking this more serious Tony and he found himself appreciating the more serious humor. He realized that maybe Tony was right and that he; himself, just needed to lighten up a little._

_McGee knew that he was a serious kind of person._

_Always had been and always would be._

_He was beginning to understand that the juvenile behavior and childish pranks were just Tony's way of coping with all the shit that life had dumped on him. Tim found himself giving his friend a lot of credit. He wasn't sure that he could have gone through everything that Tony had and come out of it with his sanity. In fact knowing himself like he did, he would hazard a guess and say that if put in the same circumstances he would have become a very bitter person._

_On impulse Tim turned his chair around and asked, "How did you cope with it all?"_

_Tony acted as if he hadn't heard McGee's question. In fact McGee was about to ask it again when Tony finally said, "I'm not sure that I have Tim . . . I'm not sure that I have."_

~~~End Flash Back~~~

Tim had been shocked to say the least. The complexity of his friend kept amazing him. The most frustrating thing for McGee was that looking back he could clearly see it. Tony had shown little bits of his true self on every case. Making important connections and leaps of intuition, not because of some stroke of dumb luck, but because of true and genuine intelligence and compounded personal experiences that gave him a wealth of examples to compare to.

McGee was literally kicking himself.

He should have recognized Tony's true potential just from his ability to quote movies alone. McGee knew that no matter how hard he tried he could barely remember anything from the movies that he watched. Still it was hard to merge the two Tony's into one.

McGee once again turned his attention back to the computer screen. The code sequence, which Tony had put in the computer for him before he was inevitably dragged away by his ever-constant watchdogs, was now casting an eerie glow around the darkened room of MTAC, could only be called pure brilliance. The pure simplicity of it still took McGee's breath away and yet it was able to break through many of the leading nation's security codes in seconds and breach firewalls in a matter of minutes.

Giving McGee access to any and all surveillance cameras that he needed in Bermuda.

McGee didn't realize that he was falling asleep until a very large cup of his favorite blend of coffee, from his favorite coffee shop was stuck under his nose jolting him awake. He leaned back in his chair and taking a deep breath rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. He looked over expecting to see Ducky or someone, _not_ Jenny from the _other_ team. McGee instantly chided himself for thinking that way. They were acting like a pair of squabbling parents fighting over who got the child on which holiday. Trying to seem less hostile McGee smiled at her and said wearily, "Thanks. I didn't realize how tired I was until just now."

"You're welcome." She replied with a smile. "Tony told me to get you some about right now."

McGee smiled and shook his head while enjoying the first sip of his coffee. Jenny seemed just as entranced by the code running as he was. She slowly shook her and whistled lowly. Leaning back in her chair she smiled and absently said, "He really is something else isn't he?"

McGee nodded and hesitantly asked, "What was Tony like when you worked with him?"

Jenny sat there thinking pensively for a few moments before she slowly said, "Well he . . . he was a lot more reserved but he was also more open. Does that make sense?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

"I don't know." McGee replied with a shake of his head, "Can you give me an example?" he asked.

"He was not quite as boisterous and exaggerated as he is now; but I have noticed that he hides more of his true feelings than he did back then." Replied Jenny thoughtfully.

McGee nodded in agreement. It was true that Tony was a master at hiding his feelings and deflection. Gibbs seemed to be the only one who could really get a read on the younger man and he was the only one that Tony felt completely comfortable being honest with.

McGee let out a silent sigh. He was feeling tired and frustrated by everything that had been happening, and if this was how he was feeling then he couldn't even begin to imagine how Tony was feeling.

McGee sighed it was just going to be one of those things that were going to take time to work out. It was essentially like meeting Tony for the first time all over again. They all had to become acquainted with this new Tony and McGee secretly felt happy that it was the same for the old team as well. They were having to get used to the new Tony and for all of them it was definitely not an easy thing to do. McGee hated to sound so petty but he figured if they were all on uncharted waters then at least they had an even playing ground.

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

7:00am:

Tony blearily sat up on the edge of the futon. He shook his head cursing the lingering haziness that always accompanied on of Ducky's homemade sleeping aids. "_Chamomile tea my ass_" grumbled Tony under his breath as he once again tried to shake the remaining cobwebs from his mind. He made a mental note to not ever accept a drink from Ducky unless he had watched him make it.

He wouldn't put it past Rock to have been in on it. In fact; remembering Rocks slightly smug look as he drank their concoction, he was pretty damn sure of it.

He stopped himself from getting up right away and looked around cautiously to make sure he really was alone. Not seeing any one was not a guarantee that he was really alone. One too many times he had made that mistake and now was always extra cautious in case anyone should decide that it was a good idea to suddenly appear next to him in mid transfer. He wasn't sure why but Ducky had suddenly become very cautious, not allowing him to hardly do anything.

After waiting a few minutes he carefully stood next to the futon with the aid of his crutches.

He hated them.

Hated everything they implied, the weakness that they represented. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to push those thoughts from his mind. It would serve no good for him to suddenly spiral into a self-loathing depression. He steadied himself by promising himself a break down once he was back in the privacy of his own home, without the watchful eyes of his friends on him.

He smiled slightly at the thought of having peace and quiet. It had been a long time since he had been well and truly on his own. He hadn't really been dating since the whole Jeanne thing happened. He figured if he could lose three great women in his lifetime then he figured that there must be something wrong with him and he determined that he wasn't going to even risk putting him-self or any other woman at risk again. So instead of being the man about town that he proclaimed himself to be, he had been working in the evenings; coming back in after the team had left, and coming in early before they had gotten there. Or if he had nothing to do at work he would help out his elderly neighbors, doing different handy work around their apartments for them that their landlord never seemed to have the time to take care of. Every once in a while if they caught him in the right mood at the right time, he might watch the next-door neighbors kids for them while they had an evening out. He both loved and hated to do it, it reminded him of what he had, had and what he had lost . . . _'STOP!'_ He chastised himself, _'You__** cannot **__go there!' _He took another deep breath and shook himself to clear his mind and focus.

He _needed_ to be focused and on point. There were no other options; if he couldn't hold it together then Gibbs wouldn't let him perform the interrogation, and as it was Tony was under no delusions about being able to do it alone. No he was fairly sure that Gibbs would make sure that he was in that interrogation room with him; no questions asked.

Straightening his shoulders and immersing into his pre-undercover mentality, Tony morphed into the persona he would need to be in order, to deal with everything the day was sure to throw at him. Checking his reflection in the glass windows, he headed out of the lab with an air of determination.

TBC . . .


End file.
